Method and system for implementing self organizing mobile network (SOMNET) of drones

ABSTRACT

Novel tools and techniques are provided for implementing self-organizing mobile networks (“SOMNETs”) of drones and platforms. In various embodiments, a computing system might receive first data from each of a plurality of vehicles; might receive second data from each of a plurality of platforms; might analyze the first data to determine a status of each vehicle; and might analyze the second data to determine a status of each platform. Based at least in part on the analyzed first and second data, the computing system might generate at least one of first control instructions to at least one first vehicle of the plurality of vehicles or second control instructions to at least one first platform of the plurality of platforms that respectively cause the at least one first vehicle to perform one or more first actions or cause the at least one first platform to perform one or more second actions.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/840,165 (the “'165 Application”), filed on Dec.13, 2019 by Phil Carpenter et al., entitled, “Method and System forImplementing Self Organizing Mobile Network (Somnet) of Drones,” whichclaims priority to U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 62/533,853 (the“'853 Application”), filed on Jul. 18, 2017 by Phil Carpenter, entitled,“Drone Charging Station on Poles,” the disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

This application may be related to U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/840,265 (the “'265 Application”), filed concurrent herewith by PhilCarpenter et al., entitled, “Method and System for ImplementingSelf-Organizing Mobile Network (SOMNET) of Drones and Platforms,” whichclaims priority to the '853 Applications, the disclosure of each ofwhich is incorporated herein by reference in their entirety for allpurposes. This application may also be related to U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/810,523 (the “'523 Application”), filed on Nov.13, 2017 by Pasha G. Mohammed et al., entitled, “Method and System forImplementing Ad Hoc Wireless Capacity Modification,” which claimspriority to U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 62/452,727 (the “'727Application”), filed Jan. 31, 2017 by Pasha G. Mohammed et al.,entitled, “Adhoc Wireless Capacity Addition System,” the disclosure ofeach of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety forall purposes.

The respective disclosures of these applications/patents (which thisdocument refers to collectively as the “Related Applications”) areincorporated herein by reference in their entirety for all purposes.

COPYRIGHT STATEMENT

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialthat is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentor the patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and TrademarkOffice patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrightrights whatsoever.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates, in general, to methods, systems, andapparatuses for implementing wireless communications and self-organizingnetworks (“SONs”), and, more particularly, to methods, systems, andapparatuses for implementing self-organizing mobile networks (“SOMNETs”)of drones and platforms.

BACKGROUND

In conventional telecommunications systems, self-organizing networks(“SONs”) may be implemented. However, existing SONs consist ofstationary or non-mobile nodes, thus resulting in gaps in SON coverageif and when one or more nodes become disabled, damaged, or inoperable.To fix such gaps, technicians must perform truck rolls to diagnose andto repair or replace the disabled, damaged, or inoperable node(s), insome cases, over less than ideal terrain. Such truck rolls are timeconsuming and require cost and resources. Further, such conventionalSONs are also inflexible in terms of functionality and feature sets ascompared with the embodiments described herein.

Hence, there is a need for more robust and scalable solutions forimplementing wireless communications and self-organizing networks(“SONs”), and, more particularly, to methods, systems, and apparatusesfor implementing self-organizing mobile networks (“SOMNETs”) of dronesand platforms.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A further understanding of the nature and advantages of particularembodiments may be realized by reference to the remaining portions ofthe specification and the drawings, in which like reference numerals areused to refer to similar components. In some instances, a sub-label isassociated with a reference numeral to denote one of multiple similarcomponents. When reference is made to a reference numeral withoutspecification to an existing sub-label, it is intended to refer to allsuch multiple similar components.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a system for implementingself-organizing mobile networks (“SOMNETs”) of drones and platforms, inaccordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating another system forimplementing SOMNETs of drones and platforms, in accordance with variousembodiments.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a non-limiting embodiment forimplementing SOMNETs of drones and platforms.

FIGS. 4A-4C are schematic diagrams illustrating various non-limitingembodiments for implementing SOMNETs of drones and platforms.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a non-limiting embodiment ofa self-organizing mobile network of drones and platforms.

FIGS. 6A-6H are flow diagrams illustrating a method for implementingSOMNETs of drones, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIGS. 7A-7D are flow diagrams illustrating a method for implementingSOMNETs of drones and platforms, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary computer or systemhardware architecture, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a networked system of computers,computing systems, or system hardware architecture, which can be used inaccordance with various embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN EMBODIMENTS Overview

Various embodiments provide tools and techniques for implementingwireless communications and self-organizing networks (“SONs”), and, moreparticularly, to methods, systems, and apparatuses for implementingself-organizing mobile networks (“SOMNETs”) of drones and platforms.

In various embodiments, a computing system might receive one or morerequests for one of a plurality of vehicles to perform one or moretasks; might receive at least one first data from at least one firstvehicle of the plurality of vehicles, the at least one first datacomprising data regarding one or more second vehicles of the pluralityof vehicles of a self-organizing mobile network (“SOMNET”) of vehicles;and might analyze the at least one first data to determine a status ofat least one second vehicle of the one or more second vehicles. Inresponse to receiving the one or more requests and based at least inpart on a determination that the at least one second vehicle is capableof performing at least one task of the one or more tasks, the computingsystem might generate one or more first control instructions and mightsend the one or more first control instructions to the at least onesecond vehicle, the one or more first control instructions causing eachof the at least one second vehicle to perform one or more first actions.In response to receiving the one or more requests and based at least inpart on a determination that the at least one second vehicle is unableto perform the at least one task of the one or more tasks, the computingsystem might identify at least one third vehicle of the one or moresecond vehicles that is capable of performing the at least one task ofthe one or more tasks and within a predetermined geographic range (e.g.,within the geographic area), might generate one or more second controlinstructions, and might send the one or more second control instructionsto the at least one third vehicle, the one or more second controlinstructions causing each of the at least one third vehicle to performthe one or more first actions.

In alternative embodiments, the computing system might receive at leastone first data from each of a plurality of vehicles of a self-organizingmobile network (“SOMNET”) of vehicles, the at least one first datacomprising status data regarding each vehicle of the plurality ofvehicles; might receive at least one second data from each of aplurality of platforms, the at least one second data comprising statusdata regarding each platform of the plurality of platforms; mightanalyze the at least one first data to determine a status of each of theplurality of vehicles; and might analyze the at least one second data todetermine a status of each of the plurality of platforms. Based at leastin part on the analyzed at least one first data and the analyzed atleast one second data, the computing system might generate at least oneof one or more first control instructions to at least one first vehicleof the plurality of vehicles or one or more second control instructionsto at least one first platform of the plurality of platforms, the one ormore first control instructions causing each of the at least one firstvehicle to perform one or more first actions, and the one or more secondcontrol instructions causing each of the at least one first platform toperform one or more second actions.

In some embodiments, the computing system might include, withoutlimitation, at least one of one or more vehicle processors disposed inone of the plurality of vehicles, one or more processors disposed in auser device associated with an operator of a service provider, aself-organizing network (“SON”) server, a service provider server, agateway device, a computing node, a server computer, a distributedcomputing system, a distributed computing system that integratescomputing resources from two or more vehicles, or a cloud computingsystem, and/or the like. According to some embodiments, each of theplurality of vehicles might comprise one of a manned vehicle or anunmanned vehicle, and/or the like. Each manned vehicle might include,but is not limited to, one of a car, a motorcycle, an all-terrainvehicle, a truck, a van, a semi-trailer truck, an aircraft, asubterranean vehicle, an amphibious vehicle, or a water craft, and/orthe like. Each unmanned vehicle might include, without limitation, oneof an aerial drone, a land-based drone, a water-based drone, asubterranean drone, an amphibious drone, a robot, or an autonomousvehicle, and/or the like.

Each of the plurality of platforms might comprise one of a stationaryplatform or a mobile platform, and/or the like. Each stationary platformmight include, but is not limited to, one of a telephone pole-basedplatform, a utility pole-based platform, a street-light based platform,a tower-based platform, a buoy-based platform, a hangar-based platform,a building-based platform, a roof-top-based platform, or apedestal-based platform, and/or the like. Each mobile platform mightinclude, without limitation, one of a cargo-trailer-based platform, acargo-container-based platform, a van-based platform, a truck-basedplatform, an aircraft-based platform, a train-based platform, or aboat-based platform, and/or the like.

Merely by way of example, in some cases, the one or more first actionsmight include, but are not limited to, at least one of establishingwireless network communications between a built-in mobile wireless basestation and at least one wireless network node of a telecommunicationsnetwork to augment wireless network functionality, establishing wirelessnetwork communications between a built-in mobile wireless base stationand at least one wireless network node of a telecommunications networkto extend wireless network functionality, monitoring for vehicularaccidents, monitoring for criminal activities, monitoring for man-madedisasters, monitoring for natural disasters, tracking real-time trafficpatterns, tracking one or more weather conditions, recovering one ormore lost vehicles, recovering one or more damaged vehicles, deliveringone or more packages, tracking one or more packages being delivered, orrepairing one or more telecommunications equipment, and/or the like.

In some instances, the one or more second actions might include, withoutlimitation, at least one of controlling one or more vehicles of theplurality of vehicles to travel within a geographic area (e.g., tooptimize communication, to gather sensor/monitoring data, etc.),controlling a vehicle of the plurality of vehicles to dock with one ormore of the plurality of platforms, rerouting one or more vehicles ofthe plurality of vehicles along one or more alternative paths, reroutingone or more vehicles of the plurality of vehicles to avoid no-fly-zones,recharging a vehicle docked with one of the plurality of platforms,replacing at least one battery of a vehicle docked with one of theplurality of platforms with at least one replacement battery, installingat least one tool on a vehicle docked with one of the plurality ofplatforms, replacing at least one tool of a vehicle docked with one ofthe plurality of platforms with at least one replacement tool, repairingone of the plurality of vehicles docked with one of the plurality ofplatforms, preventing docking by unauthorized vehicles, remotelydisabling one or more vehicles of the plurality of vehicles, pushing oneor more software updates to one of the plurality of vehicles docked withone of the plurality of platforms, broadcasting platform resourceinformation to one or more of the plurality of vehicles, establishingwireless network communications between a built-in mobile wireless basestation and at least one wireless network node of a telecommunicationsnetwork to augment wireless network functionality, establishing wirelessnetwork communications between a built-in mobile wireless base stationand at least one wireless network node of a telecommunications networkto extend wireless network functionality, monitoring for vehicularaccidents, monitoring for criminal activities, monitoring for man-madedisasters, monitoring for natural disasters, tracking real-time trafficpatterns, tracking one or more weather conditions, or tracking one ormore packages being delivered, and/or the like.

The various embodiments provide a robust implementation that utilize acombination of mobile and stationary nodes in the SOMNET ofvehicles/drones and/or platforms that enable improved flexibility interms of functionality and feature sets, while reducing the amount oftime, costs, and resources involved with truck rolls that would havebeen necessary should traditional SONs be used instead of the SOMNET ofvehicles/drones and/or platforms.

The following detailed description illustrates a few exemplaryembodiments in further detail to enable one of skill in the art topractice such embodiments. The described examples are provided forillustrative purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of theinvention.

In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerousspecific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the described embodiments. It will be apparent to oneskilled in the art, however, that other embodiments of the presentinvention may be practiced without some of these specific details. Inother instances, certain structures and devices are shown in blockdiagram form. Several embodiments are described herein, and whilevarious features are ascribed to different embodiments, it should beappreciated that the features described with respect to one embodimentmay be incorporated with other embodiments as well. By the same token,however, no single feature or features of any described embodimentshould be considered essential to every embodiment of the invention, asother embodiments of the invention may omit such features.

Unless otherwise indicated, all numbers used herein to expressquantities, dimensions, and so forth used should be understood as beingmodified in all instances by the term “about.” In this application, theuse of the singular includes the plural unless specifically statedotherwise, and use of the terms “and” and “or” means “and/or” unlessotherwise indicated. Moreover, the use of the term “including,” as wellas other forms, such as “includes” and “included,” should be considerednon-exclusive. Also, terms such as “element” or “component” encompassboth elements and components comprising one unit and elements andcomponents that comprise more than one unit, unless specifically statedotherwise.

Various embodiments described herein, while embodying (in some cases)software products, computer-performed methods, and/or computer systems,represent tangible, concrete improvements to existing technologicalareas, including, without limitation, wireless communicationstechnology, autonomous vehicle technology, and/or the like. In otheraspects, certain embodiments can improve the functioning of userequipment or systems themselves (e.g., wireless user devices, wirelessnetwork systems, wireless communications networks, drones, droneplatforms, etc.), for example, by analyzing, with a computing system, atleast one first data received from at least one first vehicle of aplurality of vehicles to determine a status of at least one secondvehicle of the plurality of vehicles; in response to receiving one ormore requests for one of a plurality of vehicles to perform one or moretasks and based at least in part on a determination that the at leastone second vehicle is capable of performing at least one task of the oneor more tasks, generating, with the computing system, one or more firstcontrol instructions and sending, with the computing system, the one ormore first control instructions to the at least one second vehicle, theone or more first control instructions causing each of the at least onesecond vehicle to perform one or more first actions; and in response toreceiving the one or more requests for one of the plurality of vehiclesto perform one or more tasks and based at least in part on adetermination that the at least one second vehicle is unable to performthe at least one task of the one or more tasks, identifying, with thecomputing system, at least one third vehicle of the plurality ofvehicles that is capable of performing the at least one task of the oneor more tasks and that is within a predetermined geographic range,generating, with the computing system, one or more second controlinstructions, and sending, with the computing system, the one or moresecond control instructions to the at least one third vehicle, the oneor more second control instructions causing each of the at least onethird vehicle to perform the one or more first actions; and/or the like.In particular, to the extent any abstract concepts are present in thevarious embodiments, those concepts can be implemented as describedherein by devices, software, systems, and methods that involve specificnovel functionality (e.g., steps or operations), such as, deploying orsending first drones or other first vehicles to perform one or morefirst actions, and based on a determination that the first drones orother first vehicles are incapable of performing the one or more firstactions, deploying or sending second drones or other second vehicles toperform the one or more first actions, and/or the like, to name a fewexamples, that extend beyond mere conventional computer processingoperations. These functionalities can produce tangible results outsideof the implementing computer system, including, merely by way ofexample, implementing a SOMNET of vehicles or drones performing one ormore actions, and/or the like, at least some of which may be observed ormeasured by customers and/or service providers.

In alternative aspects, certain embodiments can improve the functioningof user equipment or systems themselves (e.g., wireless user devices,wireless network systems, wireless communications networks, drones,drone platforms, etc.), for example, by analyzing, with a computingsystem, at least one first data received from each of a plurality ofvehicles to determine a status of each of the plurality of vehicles;analyzing, with the computing system, at least one second data receivedfrom each of a plurality of platforms to determine a status of each ofthe plurality of platforms; based at least in part on the analyzed atleast one first data and the analyzed at least one second data,generating, with the computing system, at least one of one or more firstcontrol instructions to at least one first vehicle of the plurality ofvehicles or one or more second control instructions to at least onefirst platform of the plurality of platforms, the one or more firstcontrol instructions causing each of the at least one first vehicle toperform one or more first actions, and the one or more second controlinstructions causing each of the at least one first platform to performone or more second actions; and/or the like. In particular, to theextent any abstract concepts are present in the various embodiments,those concepts can be implemented as described herein by devices,software, systems, and methods that involve specific novel functionality(e.g., steps or operations), such as, deploying (or sending), or sendingcontrol instructions to, first drones or other first vehicles to performone or more first actions, and/or sending control instructions to firstplatforms of a plurality of platforms, based at least in part on theanalyzed at least one first data and the analyzed at least one seconddata, and/or the like, to name a few examples, that extend beyond mereconventional computer processing operations. These functionalities canproduce tangible results outside of the implementing computer system,including, merely by way of example, implementing a SOMNET ofvehicles/drones and platforms performing one or more actions, and/or thelike, at least some of which may be observed or measured by customersand/or service providers.

In an aspect, a method might comprise receiving, with a computingsystem, one or more requests for one of a plurality of vehicles toperform one or more tasks; receiving, with the computing system, atleast one first data from at least one first vehicle of the plurality ofvehicles, the at least one first data comprising data regarding one ormore second vehicles of the plurality of vehicles of a self-organizingmobile network (“SOMNET”) of vehicles; and analyzing, with the computingsystem, the at least one first data to determine a status of at leastone second vehicle of the one or more second vehicles. The method mightalso comprise, in response to receiving the one or more requests andbased at least in part on a determination that the at least one secondvehicle is capable of performing at least one task of the one or moretasks, generating, with the computing system, one or more first controlinstructions and sending, with the computing system, the one or morefirst control instructions to the at least one second vehicle, the oneor more first control instructions causing each of the at least onesecond vehicle to perform one or more first actions. The method mightfurther comprise, in response to receiving the one or more requests andbased at least in part on a determination that the at least one secondvehicle is unable to perform the at least one task of the one or moretasks, identifying, with the computing system, at least one thirdvehicle of the one or more second vehicles that is capable of performingthe at least one task of the one or more tasks and that is within apredetermined geographic range, generating, with the computing system,one or more second control instructions, and sending, with the computingsystem, the one or more second control instructions to the at least onethird vehicle, the one or more second control instructions causing eachof the at least one third vehicle to perform the one or more firstactions.

In some cases, the one or more second vehicles might comprise the firstvehicle. According to some embodiments, the computing system mightcomprise at least one of one or more vehicle processors disposed in oneof the plurality of vehicles, one or more processors disposed in a userdevice associated with an operator of a service provider, aself-organizing network (“SON”) server, a service provider server, agateway device, a computing node, a server computer, a distributedcomputing system, a distributed computing system that integratescomputing resources from two or more vehicles, or a cloud computingsystem, and/or the like.

In some embodiments, each of the plurality of vehicles might compriseone of a manned vehicle or an unmanned vehicle, and/or the like. Eachmanned vehicle might comprise one of a car, a motorcycle, an all-terrainvehicle, a truck, a van, a semi-trailer truck, an aircraft, asubterranean vehicle, an amphibious vehicle, or a water craft, and/orthe like. Each unmanned vehicle might comprise one of an aerial drone, aland-based drone, a water-based drone, a subterranean drone, anamphibious drone, a robot, or an autonomous vehicle, and/or the like. Insome instances, at least one vehicle of the plurality of vehicles mightcomprise an inductive charging system that charges via inductive powertransfer from one or more charging pads in a corresponding chargingplatform.

According to some embodiments, the determined status of the at least onesecond vehicle might comprise one of current battery charge level,remaining battery charge level, current geographic location, one or morecurrently plotted destinations, one or more currently plotted courses,proximity to one or more charging platforms, proximity to one or morecommunications platforms, proximity to one or more nearby vehicles,communications status with one or more nearby vehicles, new devicestatus within the SOMNET, registration status within the SOMNET,availability to perform at least one of the one or more tasks, status ofcurrent task, status of one or more onboard tools, device failurestatus, disabled device status, or out-of-range device status, and/orthe like.

In some embodiments, the at least one first vehicle might receive beacondata from each of at least one second vehicle of the one or more secondvehicles. The data regarding the one or more second vehicles, in somecases, might comprise the beacon data from each of the at least onesecond vehicle. In some instances, the beacon data from each of the atleast one second vehicle might comprise at least one of a uniqueidentifier assigned to a particular one of the at least one secondvehicle, signal strength of the beacon data, current battery level ofthe at least one second vehicle, remaining battery level of the at leastone second vehicle, geographic location information of the particularone of the at least one second vehicle, relative location information ofthe particular one of the at least one second vehicle with respect toother vehicles, communication transmit power level, or configurationparameters, and/or the like.

Merely by way of example, in some cases, the one or more first actionsmight comprise at least one of establishing wireless networkcommunications between a built-in mobile wireless base station and atleast one wireless network node of a telecommunications network toaugment wireless network functionality, establishing wireless networkcommunications between a built-in mobile wireless base station and atleast one wireless network node of a telecommunications network toextend wireless network functionality, monitoring for vehicularaccidents, monitoring for criminal activities, monitoring for man-madedisasters, monitoring for natural disasters, tracking real-time trafficpatterns, tracking one or more weather conditions, recovering one ormore lost vehicles, recovering one or more damaged vehicles, deliveringone or more packages, tracking one or more packages being delivered, orrepairing one or more telecommunications equipment, and/or the like.

According to some embodiments, the one or more second vehicles mighteach comprise at least one of a vehicle or a drone, and each of the oneor more second vehicles might comprise a mobile wireless base station.In such cases, the method might further comprise deploying, with thecomputing system, the one or more second vehicles to at least onegeographic area to extend a wireless range of a telecommunicationsnetwork; and establishing, with the computing system, wireless networkcommunications between the mobile wireless base station and at least onewireless network node of the telecommunications network.

In some embodiments, the one or more second vehicles might each compriseat least one of a vehicle or a drone, and each of the one or more secondvehicles might comprise one or more weather sensors comprising at leastone of one or more pressure sensors, one or more temperature sensors,one or more motion sensors, one or more solar light sensors, one or moreambient light sensors, one or more infra-red sensors, one or moreultra-violet sensors, one or more sound sensors, one or more seismicsensors, one or more air quality sensors, one or more moisture sensors,one or more wind sensors, or one or more particulate sensors, and/or thelike. In such cases, the method might further comprise tracking, withthe one or more weather sensors, weather conditions in one or moregeographic areas; receiving, with the computing system, data from theone or more weather sensors tracking the weather conditions in the oneor more geographic areas; and sending, with the computing system, one ormore messages to at least one of one or more user devices associatedwith customers in the one or more geographic areas, one or more lawenforcement agencies, one or more emergency response agencies, or one ormore federal agencies, and/or the like, based at least in part on thereceived data from the one or more weather sensors.

According to some embodiments, the one or more second vehicles mighteach comprise at least one of a vehicle or a drone, and each of the oneor more second vehicles might comprise at least one of one or morecameras or one or more microphones. In such cases, the method mightfurther comprise monitoring, with the at least one of one or morecameras or one or more microphones, at least one of one or morevehicular accidents, one or more criminal activities, one or moreman-made disasters, or one or more natural disasters, and/or the like;receiving, with the computing system, at least one of video or audiocontent from the monitored at least one of one or more vehicularaccidents, one or more criminal activities, one or more man-madedisasters, or one or more natural disasters, and/or the like; andsending, with the computing system, one or more messages to at least oneof one or more law enforcement agencies, one or more emergency responseagencies, one or more towing service companies, or one or more federalagencies, and/or the like, based at least in part on the received atleast one video or audio content.

In some embodiments, the one or more second vehicles might each compriseat least one of a vehicle or a drone. The method might further comprisedetermining, with the computing system and based at least in part on thestatus of the at least one second vehicle of the one or more secondvehicles, whether at least one fourth vehicle of the one or more secondvehicles is at least one of disabled, damaged, or inoperable;determining, with the computing system, a location of the at least onefourth vehicle that has been determined to be at least one of disabled,damaged, or inoperable; deploying, with the computing system, at leastone fifth vehicle of the one or more second vehicles to the location ofthe at least one fourth vehicle that has been determined to be at leastone of disabled, damaged, or inoperable; determining, with the computingsystem, whether the at least one fourth vehicle is capable of beingrepaired on-site; based on a determination that the at least one fourthvehicle is capable of being repaired on-site, repairing, using one ormore repair tools of the at least one fifth vehicle, the at least onefourth vehicle; and based on a determination that the at least onefourth vehicle is incapable of being repaired on-site, retrieving, usingone or more retrieval tools of the at least one fifth vehicle, the atleast one fourth vehicle and transporting the at least one fourthvehicle to a repair facility.

According to some embodiments, the one or more second vehicles mighteach comprise at least one of a vehicle or a drone. The method mightfurther comprise retrieving, using one or more package delivery tools ofthe one or more second vehicles, one or more packages; deploying, withthe computing system, the one or more second vehicles to one or morecustomer locations with the retrieved one or more packages, the one ormore customer locations comprising at least one of one or more customerpremises, one or more parked customer vehicles, one or more movingcustomer vehicles, one or more current locations of a user deviceassociated with a recipient of at least one of the one or more packages,one or more anticipated locations of a user device associated with arecipient of at least one of the one or more packages, or one or moredesignated delivery locations, and/or the like; and delivering, with theone or more second vehicles, each of the retrieved one or more packagesto a corresponding one of the one or more customer locations.

In some embodiments, the one or more second vehicles might each compriseat least one of a vehicle or a drone, and each of the one or more secondvehicles might comprise at least one of one or more cameras or one ormore microphones, and/or the like. In such cases, the method mightfurther comprise monitoring, with the at least one of one or morecameras or one or more microphones, at least one package being deliveredto one or more customer locations, the one or more customer locationscomprising at least one of one or more customer premises, one or moreparked customer vehicles, one or more moving customer vehicles, or oneor more designated delivery locations, and/or the like; receiving, withthe computing system, at least one of video or audio content from themonitored at least one package being delivered to the one or morecustomer locations; and sending, with the computing system, one or moremessages to at least one of one or more user devices associated withcustomers who are located at the one or more customer locations, one ormore devices associated with a service provider deploying the one ormore second vehicles, one or more devices associated with a deliverycompany delivering the at least one package, or one or more devicesassociated with one or more merchants who sold the at least one packageto the customers, and/or the like.

According to some embodiments, the one or more second vehicles mighteach comprise at least one of a vehicle or a drone. The method mightfurther comprise determining, with the computing system, whether one ormore telecommunications equipment within a geographic area are at leastone of disabled, damaged, or inoperable; determining, with the computingsystem, a location of the one or more telecommunications equipment thathave been determined to be at least one of disabled, damaged, orinoperable; deploying, with the computing system, at least one sixthvehicle of the one or more second vehicles to the location of each ofthe one or more telecommunications equipment that have been determinedto be at least one of disabled, damaged, or inoperable; determining,with the computing system, whether the one or more telecommunicationsequipment are capable of being repaired on-site; based on adetermination that at least one of the one or more telecommunicationsequipment are capable of being repaired on-site, repairing, using one ormore repair tools of the at least one sixth vehicle, the at least one ofthe one or more telecommunications equipment that are capable of beingrepaired on-site; and based on a determination that at least one of theone or more telecommunications equipment are incapable of being repairedon-site, retrieving, using one or more retrieval tools of the at leastone sixth vehicle, the at least one of the one or moretelecommunications equipment that are incapable of being repairedon-site and transporting the at least one of the one or moretelecommunications equipment to a repair facility.

In another aspect, an apparatus might comprise at least one processorand a non-transitory computer readable medium communicatively coupled tothe at least one processor. The non-transitory computer readable mediummight have stored thereon computer software comprising a set ofinstructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, causesthe apparatus to: receive one or more requests for one of a plurality ofvehicles to perform one or more tasks; receive at least one first datafrom at least one first vehicle of the plurality of vehicles, the atleast one first data comprising data regarding one or more secondvehicles of the plurality of vehicles of a self-organizing mobilenetwork (“SOMNET”) of vehicles; analyze the at least one first data todetermine a status of at least one second vehicle of the one or moresecond vehicles; in response to receiving the one or more requests andbased at least in part on a determination that the at least one secondvehicle is capable of performing at least one task of the one or moretasks, generate one or more first control instructions and send the oneor more first control instructions to the at least one second vehicle,the one or more first control instructions causing each of the at leastone second vehicle to perform one or more first actions; and in responseto receiving the one or more requests and based at least in part on adetermination that the at least one second vehicle is unable to performthe at least one task of the one or more tasks, identify at least onethird vehicle of the one or more second vehicles that is capable ofperforming the at least one task of the one or more tasks and within apredetermined geographic range, generate one or more second controlinstructions, and send the one or more second control instructions tothe at least one third vehicle, the one or more second controlinstructions causing each of the at least one third vehicle to performthe one or more first actions.

In some embodiments, the apparatus might comprise at least one of one ormore vehicle processors disposed in one of the plurality of vehicles,one or more processors disposed in a user device associated with anoperator of a service provider, a self-organizing network (“SON”)server, a service provider server, a gateway device, a computing node, aserver computer, a distributed computing system, a distributed computingsystem that integrates computing resources from two or more vehicles, ora cloud computing system, and/or the like. In some cases, each of theplurality of vehicles might comprise one of a manned vehicle or anunmanned vehicle. Each manned vehicle might comprise one of a car, amotorcycle, an all-terrain vehicle, a truck, a van, a semi-trailertruck, an aircraft, a subterranean vehicle, an amphibious vehicle, or awater craft, and/or the like. Each unmanned vehicle might comprise oneof an aerial drone, a land-based drone, a water-based drone, asubterranean drone, an amphibious drone, a robot, or an autonomousvehicle, and/or the like.

According to some embodiments, the determined status of the at least onesecond vehicle might comprise one of current battery charge level,remaining battery charge level, current geographic location, one or morecurrently plotted destinations, one or more currently plotted courses,proximity to one or more charging platforms, proximity to one or morecommunications platforms, proximity to one or more nearby vehicles,communications status with one or more nearby vehicles, new devicestatus within the SOMNET, registration status within the SOMNET,availability to perform at least one of the one or more tasks, status ofcurrent task, status of one or more onboard tools, device failurestatus, disabled device status, or out-of-range device status, and/orthe like.

In some embodiments, the one or more first actions might comprise atleast one of establishing wireless network communications between abuilt-in mobile wireless base station and at least one wireless networknode of a telecommunications network to augment wireless networkfunctionality, establishing wireless network communications between abuilt-in mobile wireless base station and at least one wireless networknode of a telecommunications network to extend wireless networkfunctionality, monitoring for vehicular accidents, monitoring forcriminal activities, monitoring for man-made disasters, monitoring fornatural disasters, tracking real-time traffic patterns, tracking one ormore weather conditions, recovering one or more lost vehicles,recovering one or more damaged vehicles, delivering one or morepackages, tracking one or more packages being delivered, or repairingone or more telecommunications equipment, and/or the like.

In yet another aspect, a system might comprise a computing system and aplurality of vehicles. The computing system comprising at least onefirst processor and a first non-transitory computer readable mediumcommunicatively coupled to the at least one first processor. The firstnon-transitory computer readable medium might have stored thereoncomputer software comprising a first set of instructions that, whenexecuted by the at least one first processor, causes the computingsystem to: receive one or more requests for one of a plurality ofvehicles to perform one or more tasks; receive at least one first datafrom at least one first vehicle of the plurality of vehicles, the atleast one first data comprising data regarding one or more secondvehicles of the plurality of vehicles of a self-organizing mobilenetwork (“SOMNET”) of vehicles; analyze the at least one first data todetermine a status of at least one second vehicle of the one or moresecond vehicles; in response to receiving the one or more requests andbased at least in part on a determination that the at least one secondvehicle is capable of performing at least one task of the one or moretasks, generate one or more first control instructions and send the oneor more first control instructions to the at least one second vehicle,the one or more first control instructions causing each of the at leastone second vehicle to perform one or more first actions; and in responseto receiving the one or more requests and based at least in part on adetermination that the at least one second vehicle is unable to performthe at least one task of the one or more tasks, identify at least onethird vehicle of the one or more second vehicles that is capable ofperforming the at least one task of the one or more tasks and within apredetermined geographic range, generate one or more second controlinstructions, and send the one or more second control instructions tothe at least one third vehicle, the one or more second controlinstructions causing each of the at least one third vehicle to performthe one or more first actions.

The at least one second vehicle and the at least one third vehicle mighteach comprise a propulsion system, at least one second processor, and asecond non-transitory computer readable medium communicatively coupledto the at least one second processor, the second non-transitory computerreadable medium having stored thereon computer software comprising asecond set of instructions that, when executed by the at least onesecond processor, causes the vehicle to: receive one of the one or morefirst control instructions or the one or more second controlinstructions; and perform the one or more first actions, based at leastin part on the received one of the one or more first controlinstructions or the one or more second control instructions.

In an alternative aspect, a method might comprise receiving, with acomputing system, at least one first data from each of a plurality ofvehicles of a self-organizing mobile network (“SOMNET”) of vehicles, theat least one first data comprising status data regarding each vehicle ofthe plurality of vehicles; receiving, with the computing system, atleast one second data from each of a plurality of platforms, the atleast one second data comprising status data regarding each platform ofthe plurality of platforms; analyzing, with the computing system, the atleast one first data to determine a status of each of the plurality ofvehicles; and analyzing, with the computing system, the at least onesecond data to determine a status of each of the plurality of platforms.The method might further comprise, based at least in part on theanalyzed at least one first data and the analyzed at least one seconddata, generating, with the computing system, at least one of one or morefirst control instructions to at least one first vehicle of theplurality of vehicles or one or more second control instructions to atleast one first platform of the plurality of platforms, the one or morefirst control instructions causing each of the at least one firstvehicle to perform one or more first actions, and the one or more secondcontrol instructions causing each of the at least one first platform toperform one or more second actions.

According to some embodiments, the computing system might comprise atleast one of one or more vehicle processors disposed in one of theplurality of vehicles, one or more processors disposed in a user deviceassociated with an operator of a service provider, a self-organizingnetwork (“SON”) server, a service provider server, a gateway device, acomputing node, a server computer, a distributed computing system, adistributed computing system that integrates computing resources fromtwo or more vehicles, or a cloud computing system, and/or the like.

In some embodiments, each of the plurality of vehicles might compriseone of a manned vehicle or an unmanned vehicle. Each manned vehiclemight comprise one of a car, a motorcycle, an all-terrain vehicle, atruck, a van, a semi-trailer truck, an aircraft, a subterranean vehicle,an amphibious vehicle, or a water craft, and/or the like. Each unmannedvehicle might comprise one of an aerial drone, a land-based drone, awater-based drone, a subterranean drone, an amphibious drone, a robot,or an autonomous vehicle, and/or the like. In some cases, each of theplurality of platforms might comprise one of a stationary platform or amobile platform. Each stationary platform might comprise one of atelephone pole-based platform, a utility pole-based platform, astreet-light based platform, a tower-based platform, a buoy-basedplatform, a hangar-based platform, a building-based platform, aroof-top-based platform, or a pedestal-based platform, and/or the like.Each mobile platform might comprise one of a cargo-trailer-basedplatform, a cargo-container-based platform, a van-based platform, atruck-based platform, an aircraft-based platform, a train-basedplatform, or a boat-based platform, and/or the like. In some instances,at least one vehicle of the plurality of vehicles might comprise aninductive charging system that charges via inductive power transfer fromone or more charging pads in a corresponding charging platform withwhich the at least one vehicle docks.

According to some embodiments, the determined status of the at least onesecond vehicle might comprise one of current battery charge level,remaining battery charge level, current geographic location, one or morecurrently plotted destinations, one or more currently plotted courses,proximity to one or more charging platforms, proximity to one or morecommunications platforms, proximity to one or more nearby vehicles,communications status with one or more nearby vehicles, new devicestatus within the SOMNET, registration status within the SOMNET,availability to perform at least one of the one or more tasks, status ofcurrent task, status of one or more onboard tools, device failurestatus, disabled device status, or out-of-range device status, and/orthe like.

In some embodiments, at least one second vehicle of the plurality ofvehicles might each receive beacon data from at least one third vehicleof the plurality of vehicles. The data regarding the at least one thirdvehicle might comprise the beacon data from each of the at least onethird vehicle. In some instances, the beacon data from each of the atleast one third vehicle might comprise at least one of a uniqueidentifier assigned to a particular one of the at least one thirdvehicle, signal strength of the beacon data, current battery level ofthe at least one third vehicle, remaining battery level of the at leastone third vehicle, geographic location information of the particular oneof the at least one third vehicle, relative location information of theparticular one of the at least one third vehicle with respect to othervehicles, communication transmit power level, or configurationparameters, and/or the like.

According to some embodiments, the one or more first actions mightcomprise at least one of establishing wireless network communicationsbetween a built-in mobile wireless base station and at least onewireless network node of a telecommunications network to augmentwireless network functionality, establishing wireless networkcommunications between a built-in mobile wireless base station and atleast one wireless network node of a telecommunications network toextend wireless network functionality, monitoring for vehicularaccidents, monitoring for criminal activities, monitoring for man-madedisasters, monitoring for natural disasters, tracking real-time trafficpatterns, tracking one or more weather conditions, recovering one ormore lost vehicles, recovering one or more damaged vehicles, deliveringone or more packages, tracking one or more packages being delivered, orrepairing one or more telecommunications equipment, and/or the like.

In some embodiments, the one or more second actions might comprise atleast one of controlling one or more vehicles of the plurality ofvehicles to travel within a geographic area, controlling a vehicle ofthe plurality of vehicles to dock with one or more of the plurality ofplatforms, rerouting one or more vehicles of the plurality of vehiclesalong one or more alternative paths, rerouting one or more vehicles ofthe plurality of vehicles to avoid no-fly-zones, recharging a vehicledocked with one of the plurality of platforms, replacing at least onebattery of a vehicle docked with one of the plurality of platforms withat least one replacement battery, installing at least one tool on avehicle docked with one of the plurality of platforms, replacing atleast one tool of a vehicle docked with one of the plurality ofplatforms with at least one replacement tool, repairing one of theplurality of vehicles docked with one of the plurality of platforms,preventing docking by unauthorized vehicles, remotely disabling one ormore vehicles of the plurality of vehicles, pushing one or more softwareupdates to one of the plurality of vehicles docked with one of theplurality of platforms, broadcasting platform resource information toone or more of the plurality of vehicles, establishing wireless networkcommunications between a built-in mobile wireless base station and atleast one wireless network node of a telecommunications network toaugment wireless network functionality, establishing wireless networkcommunications between a built-in mobile wireless base station and atleast one wireless network node of a telecommunications network toextend wireless network functionality, monitoring for vehicularaccidents, monitoring for criminal activities, monitoring for man-madedisasters, monitoring for natural disasters, tracking real-time trafficpatterns, tracking one or more weather conditions, or tracking one ormore packages being delivered, and/or the like. In some cases, theplatform resource information might comprise at least one of resourcesavailable at a particular broadcasting platform, capabilities of aparticular broadcasting platform, profiles of a particular broadcastingplatform, rates of services provided by a particular broadcastingplatform, or types of batteries available at a particular broadcastingplatform, and/or the like.

According to some embodiments, the method might further comprisedetermining, with the computing system, whether a fourth vehicle of theplurality of vehicles is unauthorized to dock with at least one firstplatform of the plurality of platforms; and based on a determinationthat the fourth vehicle is unauthorized to dock with the at least onefirst platform, preventing, with the computing system, docking by theunauthorized fourth vehicle, by performing one of rerouting the fourthvehicle away from the at least one first platform, tilting one or moredocking portions of the at least one first platform avoid docking by thefourth vehicle, or raising one or more blocking spikes or deploying oneor more barriers to prevent docking by the fourth vehicle, and/or thelike.

In some embodiments, the method might further comprise tracking, withthe computing system, at least one of one or more weather conditions,one or more man-made disasters, or one or more natural disasters;determining, with the computing system, whether at least one secondplatform of the plurality of platforms is in the path of the at leastone of one or more weather conditions, one or more man-made disasters,or one or more natural disasters; and based on a determination that theat least one second platform of the plurality of platforms is in thepath of the at least one of one or more weather conditions, one or moreman-made disasters, or one or more natural disasters, and based on adetermination that a fifth vehicle of the plurality of vehicles iscurrently docked with the at least one second platform, engaging, withthe computing system, one or more clamps to secure the at least onefifth vehicle to the at least one second platform, wherein the one ormore clamps comprise at least one of one or more magnetic clamps, one ormore electro-magnetic clamps, or one or more mechanical clamps, and/orthe like.

According to some embodiments, the method might further comprisemapping, with the computing system, two or more sixth vehicles of theplurality of vehicles; mapping, with the computing system, two or morethird platforms of the plurality of platforms; determining, with thecomputing system, the status of each of the two or more sixth vehicles,based at least in part on the at least one first data corresponding toeach of the two or more sixth vehicles; determining, with the computingsystem, the status of each of the two or more third platforms, based atleast in part on the at least one second data corresponding to each ofthe two or more third platforms; and coordinating, with the computingsystem, movement of at least one of the two or more sixth vehicles inrelation to at least one of the two or more third platforms, based atleast in part on the status of each of the two or more sixth vehiclesand on the status of each of the two or more third platforms.

In another aspect, an apparatus might comprise at least one processorand a non-transitory computer readable medium communicatively coupled tothe at least one processor. The non-transitory computer readable mediummight have stored thereon computer software comprising a set ofinstructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, causesthe apparatus to: receive at least one first data from each of aplurality of vehicles of a self-organizing mobile network (“SOMNET”) ofvehicles, the at least one first data comprising status data regardingeach vehicle of the plurality of vehicles; receive at least one seconddata from each of a plurality of platforms, the at least one second datacomprising status data regarding each platform of the plurality ofplatforms; analyze the at least one first data to determine a status ofeach of the plurality of vehicles; analyze the at least one second datato determine a status of each of the plurality of platforms; and basedat least in part on the analyzed at least one first data and theanalyzed at least one second data, generate at least one of one or morefirst control instructions to at least one first vehicle of theplurality of vehicles or one or more second control instructions to atleast one first platform of the plurality of platforms, the one or morefirst control instructions causing each of the at least one firstvehicle to perform one or more first actions, and the one or more secondcontrol instructions causing each of the at least one first platform toperform one or more second actions.

In some embodiments, the apparatus might comprise at least one of one ormore vehicle processors disposed in one of the plurality of vehicles,one or more processors disposed in a user device associated with anoperator of a service provider, a self-organizing network (“SON”)server, a service provider server, a gateway device, a computing node, aserver computer, a distributed computing system, a distributed computingsystem that integrates computing resources from two or more vehicles, ora cloud computing system, and/or the like.

According to some embodiments, each of the plurality of vehicles mightcomprise one of a manned vehicle or an unmanned vehicle. Each mannedvehicle might comprise one of a car, a motorcycle, an all-terrainvehicle, a truck, a van, a semi-trailer truck, an aircraft, asubterranean vehicle, an amphibious vehicle, or a water craft, and/orthe like. Each unmanned vehicle might comprise one of an aerial drone, aland-based drone, a water-based drone, a subterranean drone, anamphibious drone, a robot, or an autonomous vehicle, and/or the like. Insome instances, each of the plurality of platforms might comprise one ofa stationary platform or a mobile platform. Each stationary platformmight comprise one of a telephone pole-based platform, a utilitypole-based platform, a street-light based platform, a tower-basedplatform, a buoy-based platform, a hangar-based platform, abuilding-based platform, a roof-top-based platform, or a pedestal-basedplatform, and/or the like. Each mobile platform might comprise one of acargo-trailer-based platform, a cargo-container-based platform, avan-based platform, a truck-based platform, an aircraft-based platform,a train-based platform, or a boat-based platform, and/or the like. Insome cases, at least one vehicle of the plurality of vehicles mightcomprise an inductive charging system that charges via inductive powertransfer from one or more charging pads in a corresponding chargingplatform with which the at least one vehicle docks.

In some embodiments, the determined status of the at least one secondvehicle might comprise one of current battery charge level, remainingbattery charge level, current geographic location, one or more currentlyplotted destinations, one or more currently plotted courses, proximityto one or more charging platforms, proximity to one or morecommunications platforms, proximity to one or more nearby vehicles,communications status with one or more nearby vehicles, new devicestatus within the SOMNET, registration status within the SOMNET,availability to perform at least one of the one or more tasks, status ofcurrent task, status of one or more onboard tools, device failurestatus, disabled device status, or out-of-range device status, and/orthe like.

According to some embodiments, at least one second vehicle of theplurality of vehicles might each receive beacon data from at least onethird vehicle of the plurality of vehicles. The data regarding the atleast one third vehicle might comprise the beacon data from each of theat least one third vehicle. In some cases, the beacon data from each ofthe at least one third vehicle might comprise at least one of a uniqueidentifier assigned to a particular one of the at least one thirdvehicle, signal strength of the beacon data, current battery level ofthe at least one third vehicle, remaining battery level of the at leastone third vehicle, geographic location information of the particular oneof the at least one third vehicle, relative location information of theparticular one of the at least one third vehicle with respect to othervehicles, communication transmit power level, or configurationparameters, and/or the like.

In some embodiments, the one or more first actions might comprise atleast one of establishing wireless network communications between abuilt-in mobile wireless base station and at least one wireless networknode of a telecommunications network to augment wireless networkfunctionality, establishing wireless network communications between abuilt-in mobile wireless base station and at least one wireless networknode of a telecommunications network to extend wireless networkfunctionality, monitoring for vehicular accidents, monitoring forcriminal activities, monitoring for man-made disasters, monitoring fornatural disasters, tracking real-time traffic patterns, tracking one ormore weather conditions, recovering one or more lost vehicles,recovering one or more damaged vehicles, delivering one or morepackages, tracking one or more packages being delivered, or repairingone or more telecommunications equipment, and/or the like.

According to some embodiments, the one or more second actions mightcomprise at least one of controlling one or more vehicles of theplurality of vehicles to travel within a geographic area, controlling avehicle of the plurality of vehicles to dock with one or more of theplurality of platforms, rerouting one or more vehicles of the pluralityof vehicles along one or more alternative paths, rerouting one or morevehicles of the plurality of vehicles to avoid no-fly-zones, recharginga vehicle docked with one of the plurality of platforms, replacing atleast one battery of a vehicle docked with one of the plurality ofplatforms with at least one replacement battery, installing at least onetool on a vehicle docked with one of the plurality of platforms,replacing at least one tool of a vehicle docked with one of theplurality of platforms with at least one replacement tool, repairing oneof the plurality of vehicles docked with one of the plurality ofplatforms, preventing docking by unauthorized vehicles, remotelydisabling one or more vehicles of the plurality of vehicles, pushing oneor more software updates to one of the plurality of vehicles docked withone of the plurality of platforms, broadcasting platform resourceinformation to one or more of the plurality of vehicles, establishingwireless network communications between a built-in mobile wireless basestation and at least one wireless network node of a telecommunicationsnetwork to augment wireless network functionality, establishing wirelessnetwork communications between a built-in mobile wireless base stationand at least one wireless network node of a telecommunications networkto extend wireless network functionality, monitoring for vehicularaccidents, monitoring for criminal activities, monitoring for man-madedisasters, monitoring for natural disasters, tracking real-time trafficpatterns, tracking one or more weather conditions, or tracking one ormore packages being delivered, and/or the like. In some embodiments, theplatform resource information might comprise at least one of resourcesavailable at a particular broadcasting platform, capabilities of aparticular broadcasting platform, profiles of a particular broadcastingplatform, rates of services provided by a particular broadcastingplatform, or types of batteries available at a particular broadcastingplatform, and/or the like.

In some embodiments, the set of instructions, when executed by the atleast one processor, might further cause the apparatus to: determinewhether a fourth vehicle of the plurality of vehicles is unauthorized todock with at least one first platform of the plurality of platforms; andbased on a determination that the fourth vehicle is unauthorized to dockwith the at least one first platform, prevent docking by theunauthorized fourth vehicle, by performing one of rerouting the fourthvehicle away from the at least one first platform, tilting one or moredocking portions of the at least one first platform avoid docking by thefourth vehicle, or raising one or more blocking spikes or deploying oneor more barriers to prevent docking by the fourth vehicle.

According to some embodiments, the set of instructions, when executed bythe at least one processor, might further cause the apparatus to: trackat least one of one or more weather conditions, one or more man-madedisasters, or one or more natural disasters; determine whether at leastone second platform of the plurality of platforms is in the path of theat least one of one or more weather conditions, one or more man-madedisasters, or one or more natural disasters; and based on adetermination that the at least one second platform of the plurality ofplatforms is in the path of the at least one of one or more weatherconditions, one or more man-made disasters, or one or more naturaldisasters, and based on a determination that a fifth vehicle of theplurality of vehicles is currently docked with the at least one secondplatform, engage one or more clamps to secure the at least one fifthvehicle to the at least one second platform, wherein the one or moreclamps comprise at least one of one or more magnetic clamps, one or moreelectro-magnetic clamps, or one or more mechanical clamps, and/or thelike.

In some embodiments, the set of instructions, when executed by the atleast one processor, might further cause the apparatus to: map two ormore sixth vehicles of the plurality of vehicles; map two or more thirdplatforms of the plurality of platforms; determine the status of each ofthe two or more sixth vehicles, based at least in part on the at leastone first data corresponding to each of the two or more sixth vehicles;determine the status of each of the two or more third platforms, basedat least in part on the at least one second data corresponding to eachof the two or more third platforms; and coordinate movement of at leastone of the two or more sixth vehicles in relation to at least one of thetwo or more third platforms, based at least in part on the status ofeach of the two or more sixth vehicles and on the status of each of thetwo or more third platforms.

In yet another aspect, a system might comprise a computing system, atleast one first vehicle, and at least one first platform. The computingsystem might comprise at least one first processor and a firstnon-transitory computer readable medium communicatively coupled to theat least one first processor. The first non-transitory computer readablemedium might have stored thereon computer software comprising a firstset of instructions that, when executed by the at least one firstprocessor, causes the computing system to: receive at least one firstdata from each of a plurality of vehicles of a self-organizing mobilenetwork (“SOMNET”) of vehicles, the at least one first data comprisingstatus data regarding each vehicle of the plurality of vehicles; receiveat least one second data from each of a plurality of platforms, the atleast one second data comprising status data regarding each platform ofthe plurality of platforms; analyze the at least one first data todetermine a status of each of the plurality of vehicles; analyze the atleast one second data to determine a status of each of the plurality ofplatforms; and based at least in part on the analyzed at least one firstdata and the analyzed at least one second data, generate at least one ofone or more first control instructions to at least one first vehicle ofthe plurality of vehicles or one or more second control instructions toat least one first platform of the plurality of platforms, the one ormore first control instructions causing each of the at least one firstvehicle to perform one or more first actions, and the one or more secondcontrol instructions causing each of the at least one first platform toperform one or more second actions.

The at least one first vehicle might each comprise a propulsion system,at least one second processor, and a second non-transitory computerreadable medium communicatively coupled to the at least one secondprocessor. The second non-transitory computer readable medium might havestored thereon computer software comprising a second set of instructionsthat, when executed by the at least one second processor, causes thevehicle to: receive one of the one or more first control instructions;and perform the one or more first actions, based at least in part on thereceived one of the one or more first control instructions.

The at least one first platform might each comprise at least one thirdprocessor and a third non-transitory computer readable mediumcommunicatively coupled to the at least one third processor. The thirdnon-transitory computer readable medium might have stored thereoncomputer software comprising a third set of instructions that, whenexecuted by the at least one third processor, causes the platform to:receive one of the one or more second control instructions; and performthe one or more second actions, based at least in part on the receivedone of the one or more second control instructions.

Various modifications and additions can be made to the embodimentsdiscussed without departing from the scope of the invention. Forexample, while the embodiments described above refer to particularfeatures, the scope of this invention also includes embodiments havingdifferent combination of features and embodiments that do not includeall of the above described features.

Specific Exemplary Embodiments

We now turn to the embodiments as illustrated by the drawings. FIGS. 1-9illustrate some of the features of the method, system, and apparatus forimplementing wireless communications and self-organizing networks(“SONs”), and, more particularly, to methods, systems, and apparatusesfor implementing self-organizing mobile networks (“SOMNETs”) of dronesand platforms, as referred to above. The methods, systems, andapparatuses illustrated by FIGS. 1-9 refer to examples of differentembodiments that include various components and steps, which can beconsidered alternatives or which can be used in conjunction with oneanother in the various embodiments. The description of the illustratedmethods, systems, and apparatuses shown in FIGS. 1-9 is provided forpurposes of illustration and should not be considered to limit the scopeof the different embodiments.

With reference to the figures, FIG. 1 is a schematic diagramillustrating a system 100 for implementing self-organizing mobilenetworks (“SOMNETs”) of drones and platforms, in accordance with variousembodiments.

In the non-limiting embodiment of FIG. 1, system 100 might comprise oneor more vehicles 105, which might comprise one or more manned vehicles110 a-110 n (collectively, “manned vehicles 110” or the like) and/or oneor more unmanned vehicles 115 a-115 n (collectively, “unmanned vehicles115” or the like). At least one vehicle 105 of the one or more vehicles105 might be one of proximate to or within at least one geographic area130 (e.g., a residential neighborhood, a business center, an officepark, a portion of a city or town, a transit station or depot, etc.). Insome instances, each manned vehicle 110 might include, but is notlimited to, one of a car, a motorcycle, an all-terrain vehicle, a truck,a van, a semi-trailer truck, an aircraft, a subterranean vehicle, anamphibious vehicle, or a water craft, and/or the like. In some cases,each unmanned vehicle 115 might include, without limitation, one of anaerial drone, a land-based drone, a water-based drone, a subterraneandrone, an amphibious drone, a robot, or an autonomous vehicle, and/orthe like. System 100 might further comprise one or more platforms 120a-120 n (collectively, “platforms 120” or the like) and one or more userdevices 125 a-125 n (collectively, “user devices 125” or the like).According to some embodiments, each of the one or more user devices 125might include, without limitation, one of a laptop computer, a tabletcomputer, a smart phone, a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant,an Internet of things (“IoT”) device, a set-top box, a video recordingand/or playback device, an audio recording and/or playback device, or aportable gaming device, and/or the like. The platforms 120 and the userdevices 125 each might also be one of proximate to or within the atleast one geographic area 130. System 100 might further comprise one ormore wireless network nodes 135, one or more networks 140, one or morecomputing systems 145, and one or more databases 150, and/or the like.Each vehicle 105 might communicate with at least one of one or more(other) manned vehicles 110, one or more (other) unmanned vehicles 115,one or more platforms 120, one or more user devices 125, and/or one ormore wireless network nodes 135 via wireless communications, as depictedin FIG. 1 by lightning bolt symbols.

In operation, a computing system (which might be embodied by at leastone of one or more manned vehicles 110, one or more unmanned vehicles115, one or more platforms 120, one or more user devices 125, one ormore wireless network nodes 135, one or more computing systems 145, acloud computing system (not shown), and/or the like) might receive oneor more requests for one of a plurality of vehicles 105 to perform oneor more tasks; might receive at least one first data from at least onefirst vehicle 105 of the plurality of vehicles 105, the at least onefirst data comprising data regarding one or more second vehicles 105 ofthe plurality of vehicles 105 of a self-organizing mobile network(“SOMNET”) of vehicles 105; and might analyze the at least one firstdata to determine a status of at least one second vehicle 105 of the oneor more second vehicles 105.

In response to receiving the one or more requests and based at least inpart on a determination that the at least one second vehicle 105 iscapable of performing at least one task of the one or more tasks, thecomputing system might generate one or more first control instructionsand might send the one or more first control instructions to the atleast one second vehicle 105, the one or more first control instructionscausing each of the at least one second vehicle to perform one or morefirst actions. In response to receiving the one or more requests andbased at least in part on a determination that the at least one secondvehicle 105 is unable to perform the at least one task of the one ormore tasks, the computing system might identify at least one thirdvehicle 105 of the one or more second vehicles 105 that is capable ofperforming the at least one task of the one or more tasks and within apredetermined geographic range (e.g., within the geographic area 130),might generate one or more second control instructions, and might sendthe one or more second control instructions to the at least one thirdvehicle 105, the one or more second control instructions causing each ofthe at least one third vehicle to perform the one or more first actions.

In alternative embodiments, the computing system might receive at leastone first data from each of a plurality of vehicles 105 of aself-organizing mobile network (“SOMNET”) of vehicles 105, the at leastone first data comprising status data regarding each vehicle 105 of theplurality of vehicles 105; might receive at least one second data fromeach of a plurality of platforms 120, the at least one second datacomprising status data regarding each platform 120 of the plurality ofplatforms 120; might analyze the at least one first data to determine astatus of each of the plurality of vehicles 105; and might analyze theat least one second data to determine a status of each of the pluralityof platforms 120. Based at least in part on the analyzed at least onefirst data and the analyzed at least one second data, the computingsystem might generate at least one of one or more first controlinstructions to at least one first vehicle 105 of the plurality ofvehicles 105 or one or more second control instructions to at least onefirst platform 120 of the plurality of platforms 120, the one or morefirst control instructions causing each of the at least one firstvehicle 105 to perform one or more first actions, and the one or moresecond control instructions causing each of the at least one firstplatform 120 to perform one or more second actions.

In various embodiments, the SOMNET of vehicles/drones and platformsmight be used to expand, augment, or fill gaps in wireless networkcoverage, as described in detail in '523 Application, which has beenincorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

According to some embodiments, the SOMNET of vehicles/drones andplatforms might be used to monitor or track crimes and/or trafficaccidents. In such cases, autonomous or piloted vehicles or drones mightbe equipped with cameras and/or microphones that may record live video,live audio, and/or still photographs of ongoing crimes and/or ongoingtraffic accidents, and might send the live video, the live audio, and/orthe still photographs of ongoing crimes and/or ongoing traffic accidentsto the platform, which might forward (in some cases via a remotecomputing system) to a master controller, communications system of thepolice or emergency responders, communications system of hospitals oremergency rooms (“ERs”), and/or the like. In some cases, law enforcementagencies or the military might utilize the SOMNET of vehicles/drones andplatforms to track one or more persons (e.g., criminals, terrorists, orVIPs under protection, etc.) or one or more objects (e.g., targetedvehicles, cavalcades, bombs, missiles, etc.), and/or the like.

In some embodiments, the SOMNET of vehicles/drones and platforms mightbe used to monitor or track (and in some cases predict) weatherconditions. In such cases, autonomous or piloted vehicles or dronesmight be equipped with weather sensors (including, but not limited to,at least one of one or more pressure sensors, one or more temperaturesensors, one or more motion sensors, one or more solar light sensors,one or more ambient light sensors, one or more infra-red sensors, one ormore ultra-violet sensors, one or more sound sensors, one or moreseismic sensors, one or more air quality sensors, one or more moisturesensors, one or more wind sensors, or one or more particulate sensors,and/or the like). According to some embodiments, weather sensor datamight also include historic data based on photographs, videos, or othersensors, and/or the like. The weather sensor data can be sent to theplatforms, master controllers, or meteorologists, or the like. Based onan analysis of the weather sensor data, weather conditions can bemonitored, tracked, and/or predicted. Based on such analysis, it can bedetermined whether climate change has occurred, which areas may bedamaged or impacted due to storms or other weather conditions, orlocations where repairs need to be made, and/or the like. Based on suchanalysis, it can also be determined whether one or more vehicles ordrones should be stowed indoors. If so, the vehicles or drones might besent to hangars or other covered enclosures to wait out the weatherconditions. Alternatively, or additionally, clamps (e.g., magnetic,electro-magnetic, and/or mechanical clamps, or the like) may be deployedto secure the docked drones or vehicles to the platforms.

According to some embodiments, the SOMNET of vehicles/drones andplatforms might be used to recover or repair disabled, damaged, orinoperable vehicles or drones (or disabled, damaged, or inoperabletelecommunications equipment). In such cases, a vehicle or drone mightbe deployed to the last known location of the disabled, damaged, orinoperable vehicle or drone, and might search for the disabled, damaged,or inoperable vehicle or drone if not at the last known location. Once adisabled, damaged, or inoperable vehicle or drone is located, thesearching drone or vehicle might attempt to identify the disabled,damaged, or inoperable vehicle or drone (e.g., by scanning QR codes (ifvisible), by scanning for RFID codes (if within range), by imagerecognition of characteristics of the disabled, damaged, or inoperablevehicle or drone, by monitoring emergency pings, distress signals, dyinggasp signals, or the like from the disabled, damaged, or inoperablevehicle or drone (if any), and/or the like). In some cases, thesearching drone might ping the seemingly disabled, damaged, orinoperable drone to determine if it is functional or in need ofassistance. In some instances, the distress signal might be sent from ablack box in the drone, the black box having its own dedicated powersource (e.g., its own batteries, solar power, etc.). Alternatively, thedrone might send out a dying gasp signal indicating the drone's currentlocation and/or any information pertinent to the drone's status (e.g.,battery level, damage status, maintenance status, errors, etc.), priorto power loss or full equipment malfunction, and/or the like.

In some embodiments, the SOMNET of vehicles/drones and platforms mightbe used to communicatively couple autonomous or piloted vehicles toplatforms. In such cases, the vehicles and platforms might exchangeinformation regarding which autonomous or piloted vehicles have reservedspace at which platforms (or have authorization to dock with whichplatforms), might exchange location information, might exchange travelpaths (e.g., flight, drive, or navigation paths, or the like), mightdetermine available platforms with which to dock (e.g., for recharging,for battery replacement, for repairs, for tool installation, for toolexchange, for software updating, and/or the like), and/or the like. Thetypes of communication amongst the vehicles and platforms might include,without limitation, mobile network communications, satellitecommunications, radio frequency (“RF”) communications, near fieldcommunications (“NFC”), communications tower signals, 3.5 GHz bandcommunications, wireline or wireless communications, community Wi-Ficommunications, and/or the like. The platforms (including landing pads,charging stations, and/or the like) may also be networked together inorder to track vehicles and drones, and to coordinate the drones whenthe pad will be available for docking or the like. In some cases,network management may be used to maximize servicing the greatest numberof vehicles or drones in a geographic area, to ensure that the vehiclesor drones are charged or otherwise powered, and to optimize travel timesor distances, and/or the like. In some instances, information may bepassed or exchanged to verify compatibility, capability, reliability,range, charged state, and/or the like, with coordinates being passedalong with a payload when such information is verified or otherwisedetermined to meet requirements of a task to be performed by the one ormore vehicles or drones.

In a similar manner, the SOMNET of vehicles might be used tocommunicatively couple autonomous or piloted vehicles with otherautonomous or piloted vehicles. In such cases, the vehicles mightexchange location information (in some cases, by first obtaininglocation information by communicating with mobile devices or GPS devicesor the like that are within wireless communications range, or the like),might exchange travel paths (e.g., flight, drive, or navigation paths,or the like), might allow or permit particular drones or autonomousvehicles to control other drones or autonomous vehicles, and/or thelike. The types of communication amongst the vehicles and platformsmight include, without limitation, mobile network communications,satellite communications, radio frequency (“RF”) communications, nearfield communications (“NFC”), communications tower signals, 3.5 GHz bandcommunications, wireline or wireless communications, community Wi-Ficommunications, and/or the like. In some embodiments, communications maybe standardized amongst drones or vehicles. In some cases, this mightpermit payload transfer or enable public/private partnerships. Forexample, a private individual might own a drone and might enable his orher drone to participate in a partnership to deliver payloads orpackages for other individuals or companies within the drone's coveragearea. In some cases, a service provider might facilitate such rentingout of drones, and might verify a renting operator's license or abilityto fly the drone. Incentives, in some instances, might be provided tothe owner of property to house drones or autonomous vehicles on his orher private property (such drones or vehicles being owned or operated bya service provider).

With reference to delivery of packages, packages (including, but notlimited to merchandize from e-tailers, local businesses, or the like,legal documents from/to lawyers to/from individuals/companies,medicine/biomaterials/organs from pharmacies, hospitals, or the like,food from local groceries or restaurants, and/or the like) might bedelivered to a customer, either at the location of a cellphone, smartwatch, or vehicle associated with the customer (using GPS data from thecustomer's device or vehicle, using navigation path data from thecustomer's device or vehicle (to allow for plotting an interceptcourse), etc.) or at a specified delivery point (e.g., at the customer'shome, in the front yard or back yard of the customer's home, at thecustomer's work location, at the current location of the customer'svehicle, at the current location of the customer's smartphone, at apre-registered address, location, or coordinates, at a particular remotelocation, etc.). In some cases, the drones or autonomous vehicles mightallow other drones or vehicles to control one another. In someinstances, a drone might communicate with a car to open its window todeliver a package (in some cases, with the car controlling the drone tofly through the window) or to communicate with a home-based system toopen a door or window of the home to deliver a package (in some cases,with the home-based system controlling the drone to fly through the dooror window).

In some cases, packages or drones delivering the packages may be trackedor monitor during delivery (either by the seller, the buyer, or thecompany deploying the drones). Arrival times, departure times, deliverystatuses, and/or the like may be tracked or monitored. In some cases,live video, live audio, and/or still photographs may be captured andsent to the platform(s), to a master controller, to the seller, to thebuyer, to the sender, to the recipient, and/or the company deploying thedrones, so that the live video, live audio, and/or still photographs maybe viewed by one or more users (i.e., the seller, the buyer, the sender,the recipient, and/or an employee of the company deploying the drones,etc.). In some embodiments, a mobile platform (such as described belowwith respect to FIG. 4A) might be used to drive or fly one or moredrones to a specified location and to release the one or more droneswithin a particular area to deliver packages (in some cases, to providelast mile delivery of packages, or the like). In some cases, one or moreplatforms (whether mobile or stationary) might comprise storage unitsfor storing one or more packages in order to implement or facilitateimplementation of a distributed warehouse system for more rapid“just-in-time” delivery of packages, or the like, and/or to extentexisting commercial delivery options. Zones may be established fordelivery, with particular drones being assigned to delivery inparticular delivery areas (e.g., port drones delivering within a port,residential drones delivering within residential neighborhoods, citydrones delivery within a city's city limits, etc.), where the size ofthe drones might be determined or assigned based on delivery areas(e.g., smaller drones for urban areas, larger drones for rural areas,etc.).

In some instances, security measures may be implemented to ensure thatpackages are delivered only to authorized users—in some cases, bydelivering to a user possessing an authorized phone, by delivering to aparticular address, by verifying biometric data from a receiving party,and/or the like. In some cases, drones might be equipped with deliveryboxes, with the package being placed in the delivery box to be deliveredby the drone. In some instances, the delivery box might be thermalinsulated (to safely deliver cold packages or to safely deliver warm/hotpackages), might be weather resistant, might be water resistant or waterproof, might have built-in security devices that allow only authorizedrecipients to open, and/or the like. In some embodiments, communicationsamongst drones (and/or amongst drones and platforms) might facilitatepayload transfer, with the system determining whether it is moreefficient for one drone to hand-off the package to another drone (e.g.,if the distance for delivery exceeds battery capacity of the first droneor if the first drone is too large to fit a particular area so it handsoff the package to a smaller drone that can fit in the particular area,and so on). In some cases, times may be reserved for delivery ofpackages. In some instances, a customer may be charged based on thegeographic zones or areas in which the package is delivered or throughwhich the drone(s) must travel to deliver the packages. In someembodiments, the platforms may also be a distributed warehouse for avariety of businesses needing repair parts. The platforms keep track ofinventory based on identification methods that may include, withoutlimitation, RFID, BlueTooth, QR codes, bar codes, shape recognition,and/or the like.

According to some embodiments, the SOMNET of vehicles/drones andplatforms might be used to repair telephone poles or othertelecommunications equipment, to deliver tools to technicians on site,to identify problems within a network (e.g., using one or more cameras,one or more microphones, one or more communications testing devices,etc.) prior to technicians or tool-equipped drones being deployed. Insuch cases, live video, live audio, and/or still photographs may becaptured and sent to the platform, master controller, and/or serviceprovider, or the like.

In some embodiments, the SOMNET of vehicles/drones and platforms mightbe used to remotely disable or remotely control autonomous or pilotedvehicles. For example, drones or vehicles might be remotely disabled (orremotely controlled to return to a base location) based on apredetermined amount of time the drones or vehicles have notcommunicated with other vehicles and/or platforms. In some cases, dronesor vehicles might be remotely disabled (or remotely controlled to returnto a base location or to an authorized location or flight/navigationpath) based on entry into restricted zones (e.g., government property,airport property, national parks, etc.). Such kill or control switchesmight be installed on the vehicles or drones, so that functionality ofthe vehicles or drones (other than the ability to send a distresssignal) might be disabled after sending a distress signal to preventunauthorized persons from using the disabled, damaged, or inoperablevehicles or drones. In some instances, anti-theft features of drones orvehicles might include, without limitation, a black box (which has itsown dedicated source or power, such as solar power, battery power, etc.)that sends out a distress signal when the drone or vehicle has becomedisabled, damaged, or inoperable, sensors to determine if a person isapproaching (with audible anti-theft messages or alarms being projectedto warn the approaching person against unauthorized use or theft),stickers (which might include, QR codes, bar codes, other identifiers,or the like) on the drone or vehicle identifying the owner and how tocontact or return to the owner (with return delivery or shipping of thedrone, in some cases, being auto-charged to the owner, cameras tocapture photographs, audio, or videos of unauthorized personsapproaching the drone (with the captured photographs, audio, or videosbeing sent to the owner or a tracking service), or the like.

According to some embodiments, the SOMNET of vehicles/drones andplatforms might be used to track and monitor drones or vehicles (andalso platforms) to determine whether maintenance is required (eitherupcoming or past due maintenance), and to schedule or deploy drones,vehicles, or technicians to perform such maintenance. In some instances,the SOMNET of vehicles/drones and platforms might utilize visualrecognition to enable drones to find and collect litter, or to retrievehats and other articles that have blown away or have landed ininaccessible areas, or the like.

In some embodiments, the SOMNET of vehicles/drones and platforms mightbe used to coordinate travel paths of drones or vehicles, and in somecases, to update, modify, or reroute such travel paths in real time(e.g., for delivery of payloads or packages, to guide drones or vehiclesto battery replacement/charging platforms, to send drones or vehicles toother locations, etc.), based on change in location of a target, basedon prioritized reservations, based on monitored weather conditions,based on timeliness or tardiness of the drones or vehicles, based ontraffic conditions, and/or based on data collected by the SOMNET ofvehicles/drones and platforms, etc. In some cases, artificialintelligence (“AI”) and/or machine learning might be used to enableself-learning of the environment, travel paths, hazards, etc.

These or other features and functionalities of the SOMNET ofvehicles/drones and platforms are described below with respect to FIGS.2-7.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating another system 200 forimplementing SOMNETs of drones and platforms, in accordance with variousembodiments.

In the non-limiting embodiment of FIG. 2, system 200 might comprise avehicle 205 and a platform 210. The vehicle 205 might comprise one of amanned vehicle or an unmanned vehicle. Each manned vehicle mightinclude, but is not limited to, one of a car, a motorcycle, anall-terrain vehicle, a truck, a van, a semi-trailer truck, an aircraft,a subterranean vehicle, an amphibious vehicle, or a water craft, and/orthe like. Each unmanned vehicle might include, without limitation, oneof an aerial drone, a land-based drone, a water-based drone, asubterranean drone, an amphibious drone, a robot, or an autonomousvehicle, and/or the like. Each vehicle 205 might further comprise aprocessor(s) 215, a database 220, a power source 225, a communicationssystem 230, a base station 235 (optional), one or more cameras 240(optional), one or more audio sensors or microphones 245 (optional), oneor more retrieval tools 250 (optional), one or more repair tools 255(optional), one or more weather sensors 260 (optional), one or moremotion sensors 265 (optional), one or more temperature sensors 270(optional), one or more light sensors 275 (optional), one or morepropulsion systems 280, and/or the like. In some embodiments, the one ormore weather sensors 260 might include, but not limited to, at least oneof one or more pressure sensors, one or more temperature sensors, one ormore motion sensors, one or more solar light sensors, one or moreambient light sensors, one or more infra-red sensors, one or moreultra-violet sensors, one or more sound sensors, one or more seismicsensors, one or more air quality sensors, one or more moisture sensors,one or more wind sensors, or one or more particulate sensors, and/or thelike. In some cases, the one or more propulsion systems 280 might bebased at least in part on electrical motors, gas-operated motors,solid-fuel-operated motors, liquid-fuel-operated motors, etc., whichmight use fuel containers that can be exchanged in a similar manner asexchangeable batteries 225 a, or the like.

According to some embodiments, the power source might include, withoutlimitation, one or more batteries 225 a, one or more charging pads 225b, and/or the like. Merely by way of example, in some instances, theplatform 210 might include, without limitation, a power source 210 a, acharging pad 210 b, a data store 210 c, a processor(s) 210 d, and acommunications system 210 e, and/or the like. The power source 210 a, insome cases, might be at least one of wired (in an electrical or utilitygrid), solar-powered, wind-powered, geo-thermal-powered,electric-generator-powered, and/or battery-based, etc. The charging pad210 b might be similar or at least complementary to charging pad 225 bof vehicle 205, and in some instances, might transfer power to chargingpad 225 b via inductive charging or some other wireless charging, and/orthe like (as depicted in FIG. 2 by the diamond-ended dashed line 210 f).In some embodiments, alternative to the inductive charging system, othercharging systems might include, without limitation, contact chargingsystem (e.g., in which charging pads 210 b and 225 b might compriseelectrical contacts that when in physical contact with each other mightallow electrical charging to the vehicle 205, as depicted bydiamond-ended dashed line 210 f, or the like). In some instances,multiple charging pads on each of the vehicle 205 and the platform 210(whether inductive or contact—based, or the like) might be provided toallow for zonal charging, thereby improving (i.e., reducing) the time ittakes to recharge the battery 225 a on the vehicle 205.

In some embodiments, the communications system 230 and/or thecommunications system 210 e might each include, but is not limited to,one or more antennas, one or more wireless transceivers, and one or morecommunications sub-systems, and/or the like. In some cases, the one ormore wireless transceivers might communicate with other devices,including, but not limited to, one or more vehicles (or drones 205), oneor more platforms 210, one or more user devices 285, one or morewireless network nodes 290, and/or one or more computing systems 295,using any one or a combination of the wireless protocols describedherein (including, but not limited to, 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz WiFi, Bluetooth,Z-wave, ZigBee, etc.), or the like. In FIG. 2, wireless communicationsare depicted by lightning bolt symbols. Merely by way of example,according to some embodiments, the wireless communications might bebased on wireless communications protocols or standards including, butnot limited to, at least one of 2G standard, 3G standard, 4G standard,5G standard, Wi-Fi standard, LoRa standard, or random phase multipleaccess (“RPMA”) standard, and/or the like. In some instances, thewireless network communications might include, without limitation, atleast one of a wireless mesh, a point-to-point wireless communicationslink, a point-to-multi-point wireless communications link, or amicrowave link, and/or the like. In some embodiments, the at least onewireless network node might comprise a wireless access point (“WAP”) orthe like. In some embodiments, compute resources might be local to thevehicle or platform (e.g., as embodied by processor 215 of vehicle 205or by processor 210 d of platform 210, or the like, or the like). Thisallows for autonomous actions, which might be necessary whencommunication with a remote compute resource (e.g., computing system(s)295 or the like) is not possible, e.g., due to a power failure at thecompute resource, or due to the vehicle being out of communicationrange, etc.

The vehicle 205, the platform 210, the user device(s) 285, the wirelessnetwork node(s) 290, and the computing system(s) 295 of system 200 ofFIG. 2 might otherwise be the same as, or similar to, the one or morevehicles 105, the one or more platforms 120, the one or more userdevices 125, the one or more wireless network nodes 135, and the one ormore computing systems 145 respectively, of system 100 of FIG. 1, andsimilar descriptions apply to the components of system 200 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a non-limiting embodiment 300for implementing SOMNETs of drones and platforms. Embodiment 300 mightcomprise a plurality of customer premises 310 located within ageographic area 305. The customer premises 310 might each be adjacent toa roadway 315. Embodiment 300 might further comprise one or morevehicles 320, each including, without limitation, one of a mannedvehicle or an unmanned vehicle. In some instances, each manned vehiclemight include, but is not limited to, one of a car, a motorcycle, anall-terrain vehicle, a truck, a van, a semi-trailer truck, an aircraft,a subterranean vehicle, an amphibious vehicle, or a water craft, and/orthe like. In some cases, each unmanned vehicle might include, withoutlimitation, one of an aerial drone, a land-based drone, a water-baseddrone, a subterranean drone, an amphibious drone, a robot, or anautonomous vehicle, and/or the like. In the non-limiting embodiment ofFIG. 3, the vehicles 320 are depicted as aerial drones (for purposes ofillustration). Embodiment 300 might further comprise one or moreplatforms 325 on which the aerial drones 320 might land (or otherwiseconnect or make contact with), via which the aerial drones 320 mightrecharge, and/or with or via which the aerial drones 320 mightwirelessly communicate so as to communicate with one or more wirelessnetwork nodes or wireless access points 330 (which are shown tocommunicatively couple with each platform 325 via dotted lines in FIG.3). In some cases, the vehicles 320 might wirelessly communicatedirectly with the one or more wireless network nodes 330 (as depicted bythe lightning bolt symbols around each vehicle 320).

For simplifying the illustration, the customer premises 310 are shown tobe in a grid-like block pattern, and are shown to be of similar designand build. The grid-like block of customer premises is also shown to beoriented along particular cardinal directions (i.e., north, south, east,and west), as indicated in FIG. 3. However, the various embodiments arenot so limited, and any arrangement of customer premises (of any varietyof sizes and builds) may be applicable, in any arrangement ororientation with respect to the cardinal directions, as appropriate ordesired. Moreover, the tools and techniques described herein may beimplemented for established neighborhoods/blocks of customer premises ornewly constructed ones.

Further, although FIG. 3 shows a plurality of customer premises that aresingle-family home residences within a neighborhood setting, the variousembodiments are not so limited, and the various systems and methodsdescribed with respect to FIG. 3 may be applicable to any arrangementand type of customer premises (including, without limitation, customerresidences, multi-dwelling units (“MDUs”), commercial customer premises,industrial customer premises, and/or the like) within one or more blocksof customer premises (e.g., residential neighborhoods,university/college campuses, office blocks, industrial parks, mixed-usezoning areas, and/or the like), in which roadways and/or pathways mightbe adjacent to each of the customer premises. Moreover, the embodimentas shown in FIG. 3 is not necessarily to scale, as the vehicles 320(depicted as aerial drones in this embodiment) and the platforms 325 areenlarged relative to the customer premises 310 for clarity ofillustration.

The one or more vehicles 320, the geographic area 305, the one or moreplatforms 325, and the wireless network node 330 of system 300 of FIG. 3might otherwise be the same as, or similar to, the one or more vehicles105, the geographic area 130, the one or more platforms 120, and the oneor more wireless network nodes 135, respectively, of system 100 of FIG.1, and similar descriptions apply to the components of system 300 ofFIG. 3.

FIGS. 4A-4C (collectively, “FIG. 4”) are schematic diagrams illustratingvarious non-limiting embodiments 400, 400′, and 400″ for implementingSOMNETs of drones and platforms. FIG. 4A depicts a top or plan view of anon-limiting embodiment 400 in which the platform might comprise one ofa cargo-trailer-based platform, a cargo-container-based platform, avan-based platform, a truck-based platform, or a train-based or traincar-based platform, and/or the like. FIG. 4B depicts an elevation viewof a non-limiting embodiment 400′ in which the platform might compriseone of a hangar-based platform, a building-based platform, and/or thelike. FIG. 4C depicts a schematic diagram of a non-limiting embodiment400″ of a neighborhood in which the platforms might each comprise one ofa telephone pole-based platform, a utility pole-based platform, astreet-light (or lamp post) based platform, a roof-top-based platform,and/or the like. In the embodiments of FIG. 4, the vehicles are depictedas being aerial drones, but the various embodiments are not so limited,and the vehicles can be land-based drones, water-based drones, asubterranean drone, an amphibious drone, a robot, autonomous vehicles,and/or or other unmanned vehicles, or the like. In some cases, thevehicles can be manned vehicles each including, but not limited to, oneof a car, a motorcycle, an all-terrain vehicle, a truck, a van, asemi-trailer truck, an aircraft, a subterranean vehicle, an amphibiousvehicle, or a water craft, and/or the like. Also in the embodiments ofFIG. 4, although the platforms are each depicted as one of acargo-trailer-based platform, a cargo-container-based platform, avan-based platform, a truck-based platform, or a train-based or traincar-based platform, a hangar-based platform, a building-based platform,a telephone pole-based platform, a utility pole-based platform, astreet-light (or lamp post) based platform, a roof-top-based platform,and/or the like, the various embodiments are not so limited, and theplatform can also be at least one of a tower-based platform, abuoy-based platform, a pedestal-based platform, an aircraft-basedplatform, or a boat-based platform, and/or the like. In fact, theplatform can be any stationary or mobile platform (whether covered oruncovered) with which the vehicle or drone can dock, communicate, and/orrecharge.

With reference to FIG. 4A, non-limiting embodiment 400 might comprise aplatform 405, which, as indicated above, might include, withoutlimitation, one of a cargo-trailer-based platform, acargo-container-based platform, a van-based platform, a truck-basedplatform, or a train-based or train car-based platform, and/or the like.The platform 405, as shown from the top in FIG. 4A, might comprise oneor more roof-top openings 410 (which might comprise sliding covers ordoors, retractable covers or doors, or the like; not shown) throughwhich one or more vehicles 420 may lift-off from sub-platforms 415. Theone or more vehicles 420, as shown in the non-limiting embodiment ofFIG. 4A, can take the form of aerial drones. Although the aerial drones420 of FIG. 4A are depicted as being relatively large as the one of thecargo-trailer-based platform, the cargo-container-based platform, thevan-based platform, the truck-based platform, or the train-based ortrain car-based platform can fit only six such aerial drones, thevarious embodiments are not so limited, and the aerial drones 420 (orany such vehicles used to form the SOMNET) can be of any size, fromhuman hand-sized drones to large bird-sized drones, to human-transportsized drones, to cargo-transport sized drones, or the like.

Each of one or more vehicles 420 might comprise a payload section 425,which might be removable or fixed, and which might include, withoutlimitation, at least one of one or more containers, one or more sets ofstored tools, one or more sets of manipulable/working tools, one or moresets of arms, one or more sets of grappling devices, one or more sets ofactuators, one or more sets of sensors, one or more wirelesscommunications devices, one or more cameras, one or more audio sensorsor microphones, and/or the like. In some embodiments, each sub-platform415 might comprise a recharger system, which might include, but is notlimited to, an inductive charging system, a contact charging system, abattery extractor, a battery loader, a battery replacement system, fuelcontainer replacement system (e.g., gas container replacement system,solid fuel container replacement system, liquid fuel containerreplacement system, etc.), and/or the like. According to someembodiments, alternative or additional to the roof-top openings 410, theplatform 405 might comprise at least one of one or more wall openings,one or more side door openings, or one or more rear door openings,and/or the like.

Turning to FIG. 4B, non-limiting embodiment 400′ might comprise abuilding 430, which might include, but is not limited to, an aircrafthangar, a residential building, an office building, a commercialbuilding, a garage, a central office (“CO”), a telecommunications shed,and/or the like. Embodiment 400′ might further comprise a platform 435,which, as indicated above, might include, without limitation, one of ahangar-based platform, a building-based platform, and/or the like.According to some embodiments, the platform 435, as shown from the topin FIG. 4A, might comprise one or more shelves each comprising one ormore sub-platforms 415. In some embodiments, each sub-platform 415 mightcomprise a recharger system, which might include, but is not limited to,an inductive charging system, a contact charging system, a batteryextractor, a battery loader, a battery replacement/exchange system,and/or the like. In a non-limiting example, a drone might dock with aplatform, and the system might swap batteries with the drone (with thedepleted battery being removed or extracted from the drone and depositedin a storage area (which may or may not have battery rechargingcapabilities to recharge the extracted battery), while a full battery isinserted into the battery slot of the drone. In such cases, the dronesand platforms might be designed to facilitate easy swapping ofbatteries. In some instances, during the battery swap, the drone mightbe powered through the platform (e.g., with a non-removable battery ofthe drone being charged via inductive or contact charging duringswapping of the removable battery, or the like). According to someembodiments, each of one or more vehicles 420 (such as manuallycontrolled or autonomous drones, or the like) might dock with one of theone or more sub-platforms 415. Although not shown, the building 430(e.g., a drone home or the like) might comprise at least one of one ormore hangar doors, one or more garage doors, one or more front doors,one or more side doors, one or more rear doors, and/or the like.

Merely by way of example, in some cases, the one or more vehicles 420might each include, without limitation, a delivery drone 420 a or 420 b,a wireless communications extension drone 420 c, a surveillance ormonitoring drone 420 d, a repair drone 420 e, a retrieval drone 420 f, aweather monitoring drone 420 g, a tracking drone 420 h, and/or the like.In some embodiments, delivery drones 420 a or 420 b might comprisepackage retrieval/delivery tools 425 a, which might include, but are notlimited to, one or more sets of grappling devices, one or more hooks,one or more clamps, one or more winches, one or more containers, one ormore sets of actuators, and/or the like. In some instances, one or moreof the drones 420 might comprise legs or landing struts 425 b, or thelike. In some cases, the wireless communications extension drones 420 cmight include, without limitation, at least one of one or more basestations, one or more wireless transceivers, one or more wirelesscommunications devices, and/or the like (collectively, “base stations425 c” or the like). According to some embodiments, the surveillance ormonitoring drones 420 d and/or the tracking drones 420 h (as well as anyof the other drones 420) might comprise at least one of one or morecameras, one or more audio sensors, one or more microphones, one or moretracking sensors, and/or the like (collectively, “monitoring tools 425d” or “tracking tools 425 h,” or the like). In some cases, the one ormore tracking sensors might include, without limitation, at least one ofone or more proximity sensors, one or more infra-red sensors, one ormore thermal-imaging sensors, and/or the like. In some instances, therepair drones 420 e might comprise one or more repair tools 425 eincluding, but not limited to, one or more sets of manipulable tools,one or more sets of working tools, one or more sets of repair tools, oneor more sets of arms, one or more sets of actuators, and/or the like. Insome cases, the retrieval drone 420 f might comprise one or moreretrieval tools 425 f including, without limitation, one or more sets ofmanipulable tools, one or more sets of working tools, one or more setsof retrieval tools, one or more sets of arms, one or more sets ofgrappling devices, one or more hooks, one or more clamps, one or morewinches, one or more containers, one or more sets of actuators, and/orthe like. In some embodiments, the weather monitoring drone 420 g mightcomprise one or more weather sensors 425 g each including, withoutlimitation, at least one of one or more pressure sensors, one or moretemperature sensors, one or more motion sensors, one or more solar lightsensors, one or more ambient light sensors, one or more infra-redsensors, one or more ultra-violet sensors, one or more sound sensors,one or more seismic sensors, one or more air quality sensors, one ormore moisture sensors, one or more wind sensors, or one or moreparticulate sensors, and/or the like.

The aerial drones 420 a-420 h of FIG. 4B (or any vehicles used to formthe SOMNET) can be of any size, from human hand-sized drones to largebird-sized drones, to human-transport sized drones, to cargo-transportsized drones, or the like.

Referring to FIG. 4C, non-limiting embodiment 400″ might comprise one ormore platforms 415, one or more vehicles 420, customer premises 445, oneor more ground-based signal distribution devices 450 a or 450 b (whichmight include, without limitation, one or more hand holes 450 a, one ormore flowerpot hand holes (not shown), one or more pedestal platforms450 b, one or more network access point (“NAP”) platforms (not shown),one or more fiber distribution hub (“FDH”) platforms (not shown), and/orthe like that are described in greater detail in U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 14/316,665 (the “'665 Application”), filed on Jun. 26, 2014 byThomas Schwengler et al., entitled, “Wireless Access Point in Pedestalor Hand Hole,” and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/316,676 (the“'676 Application”), filed on Jun. 26, 2014 by Thomas Schwengler et al.,entitled, “Wireless Distribution Using Cabinets, Pedestals, and HandHoles,” which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety forall purposes). Each of these ground-based signal distribution devicesmay be used to transmit and receive (either wirelessly or via wiredconnection) data, voice, video, and/or power signals to and from one ormore utility poles, one or more customer premises, and/or one or moremobile user devices, apical conduit systems (as described in detail inthe '676 and the '665 applications, which have already been incorporatedherein by reference in their entirety), or the like. The one or moreground-based signal distribution devices 450 a or 450 b mightcommunicatively couple with a central office or other service providerfacility, or the like, via one or more lines (including, but not limitedto, copper signal lines, fiber optic lines, power lines, and/or thelike) that are routed through one or more conduits 450 c, which (like atleast the containers of the one or more ground-based signal distributiondevices 450 a or 450 b) might be buried in ground 455 (i.e., with a topportion substantially level with a ground surface of ground 455 orburied below the ground surface of ground 455, or the like). Antennas orother wireless transceivers in the lid, within the container, and/orwithin the pedestal portion of the one or more ground-based signaldistribution devices 450 a or 450 b might wirelessly relay, via theconduit 450 c, communications (i.e., data, voice, video, and/or powersignal communications, or the like) via the one or more lines that arerouted through the conduits 450 c from/to the central office (or otherservice provider facility) to/from at least one of network interfacedevice (“NID”) 460 a, optical network terminal (“ONT”) 460 b, a localarea network (“LAN”) 465, one or more user devices 470, and/or the like.

Embodiment 400″ might further comprise a power relay system 475 (e.g.,breaker box or the like), which might be disposed on a wall of (abuilding; e.g., an exterior wall of the building of) the customerpremises 445, that relays power over one or more power lines 480 (whichmight be relayed near the customer premises via one or more utilitypoles 485 or via one or more underground power distribution systems (notshown), or the like). In some cases, embodiment 400″ might furthercomprise street lights or lamp post(s) 490. Embodiment 400″ might alsocomprise a wireless transceiver, which might relay wirelesscommunications to the LAN 465 and/or to devices (e.g., user devices 470or the like) that are communicatively coupled to the LAN 465. The LAN465, in some cases, might also communicatively couple to the one or moreground-based signal distribution devices 450 a or 450 b via NID 460 aand/or ONT 460 b, or might communicatively couple to one or more otherInternet (or other network) sources via NID 460 a and/or ONT 460 b, orthe like. In some instances, the user device(s) 470 might each include,but is not limited to, one of a tablet computer, a desktop computer, alaptop computer, a smart phone, a mobile phone, a portable gamingdevice, a remote control device, or a personal digital assistant, and/orthe like.

In various embodiments, embodiment 400″ might comprise one or morevehicles 420 (which in FIG. 4C are depicted as aerial drones, althoughthe various embodiments are not so limited, as described above), one ormore platforms 495 and sub-platforms 415. In some instances, as shown inthe non-limiting embodiment of FIG. 4C, the one or more platforms 495might comprise a telephone pole-based platform, a utility pole-basedplatform, a street-light (or lamp post) based platform, a roof-top-basedplatform, and/or the like. In the non-limiting embodiment of FIG. 4C,the lamp post-based platforms and the telephone/utility pole-basedplatform might each comprise a base portion that clamps, affixes, orotherwise attaches to a portion of one of the poles. Attached to orintegrated with the base portion might be a sub-platform 415, whichmight comprise a recharger system, which might include, but is notlimited to, an inductive charging system, a contact charging system, abattery extractor, a battery loader, a battery replacement system, fuelcontainer replacement system (e.g., gas container replacement system,solid fuel container replacement system, liquid fuel containerreplacement system, etc.), and/or the like. The platforms 495 orsub-platforms 415 might further comprise one or more security ordeterrent systems 495 b, which might comprise a spike-based system 495a, tilt-based system 495 e, or the like. In some instances, thespike-based system 495 a might comprise one or more spikes that mightextend to block drones 420 that are not authorized or authenticated fromdocking with the particular platform 495 or sub-platform 415, and/ormight retract to allow authorized or authenticated drones 420 to dockwith the particular platform 495 or sub-platform 415, both embodimentsof which are, for example, depicted as being attached or affixed to lampposts 490 in FIG. 4C. Alternatively, rather than spikes being raised orextended, barriers (e.g., barrier plates, barrier walls, barrier lidsover contact points, and/or the like) might be deployed. In some cases,the tilt-based system 495 e might comprise a hinge or other tiltingsystem that tilts at least a portion of the base portion and/or thesub-platform 415 to prevent drones 420 that are not authorized orauthenticated from docking with the particular platform 495 orsub-platform 415 (as shown in FIG. 4C, tilting the at least a portion ofthe base portion and/or the sub-platform 415 might cause any authorizedor authenticated drones 420 that are attempting to dock with theplatform 495 to slip and fall (as depicted by the downward arrow besidethe drone 420). In some instances, the roof-top-based platform orsub-platform on the roof of customer premises 445 might provide similarfunctionality as the other platform or sub-platform.

Further regarding authentication, vehicles or drones 420 visiting acharging station (i.e., a platform 495) would authenticate with thecharging station so that the charging station knows the identity of thevehicle or drone 420 (or the identity of a user or owner associated withthe vehicle or drone 420). Through the authentication process, access tothe drone's profile is made available to the network of chargingstations or platforms 495. The profile may contain additional detailthat would not need to be transferred directly between the drone and thecharging station. Additionally, through authentication, prioritizationmay be established. For example, if there is a visiting drone that hasnot pre-registered with the network of charging stations, it may receivea lower priority to be serviced, or possibly be denied service, etc.

According to some embodiments, at least one platform 495 of the one ormore platforms 495 might comprise one or more clamps 495 c (in somecases with corresponding clamps on the drones 420) that preventauthorized or authenticated drones 420 that are docked with the at leastone platform 495 from falling or slipping off the at least one platform495, either during normal operations or during emergency situations(e.g., when the at least platform 495 is determined to be in the path ofat least one of one or more weather conditions, one or more man-madedisasters, or one or more natural disasters, and/or the like, where suchdetermination might be made by the at least one platform 495, the dronedocked therewith, other drones, other platforms, a remote computingsystem, a distributed computing system that utilizes processors in anyor a combination of these devices or systems, and/or a cloud computingsystem, and/or the like). Merely by way of example, the one or moreclamps might include, without limitation, at least one of one or moremagnetic clamps, one or more electro-magnetic clamps, or one or moremechanical clamps, and/or the like. Not only do the one or more clamps495 c prevent docked drones (i.e., authorized or authenticated drones)from falling or slipping off the at least one platform 495, but the oneor more clamps 495 c, in some cases, may also be used as an anti-theftmechanism or deterrent that prevents theft of docked drones by criminalindividuals or groups.

In some embodiments, a computing system (which might include, but is notlimited to, at least one of one or more vehicle processors disposed inone of the plurality of vehicles, one or more processors disposed in auser device associated with an operator of a service provider, aself-organizing network (“SON”) server, a service provider server, agateway device, a computing node, a server computer, a distributedcomputing system, a distributed computing system that integratescomputing resources from two or more vehicles, or a cloud computingsystem) might map two or more vehicles or drones 420, might map two ormore platforms 495 or sub-platforms 415, might determine the status ofeach of the two or more vehicles or drones 420 based at least in part onfirst data corresponding to each of the two or more vehicles or drones420 obtained through any combination of drones and platforms, mightdetermine the status of each of the two or more platforms 495 orsub-platforms 415 based at least in part on second data corresponding toeach of the two or more platforms 495 or sub-platforms 415 obtainedthrough any combination of drones and platforms, and might coordinatemovement of at least one of the two or more vehicles or drones 420relative to at least one of the two or more platforms 495 orsub-platforms 415, based at least in part on the status of each of thetwo or more vehicles or drones 420 and the status of each of the two ormore platforms 495 or sub-platforms 415.

For example, if a first drone 420 is determined to have depleted batterypower and is authorized to dock with a nearby platform 495, but thatplatform 495 might currently have a second drone 420 docked therewith,the computing system might have mapped the plurality of drones and mighthave determined the status of each of the first and second drones aswell as the status of the platform, and might coordinate movement of thefirst and second drones by, e.g., sending control instructions to thesecond drone to undock from the platform and sending controlinstructions to the first drone to take the place of the second drone bydocking with the now vacated platform and to begin charging or replacingits batteries. The computing system might further track the amount thata user or owner associated with the first drone might be billed for thecharging or replacement of the first drone's batteries. In someembodiments, the computing system might assess the condition and age ofthe first drone's batteries to determine if additional compensationneeds to occur for the exchange of new batteries for ones that are atthe end of their serviceable life. The exchange of batteries may berestricted to members of a pre-determined collective of drones or thelike. Information may be recorded and read from the battery itself viaRFID or the like. Tracking data can include, without limitation, age,ownership, number of charges, capacity, and/or the like. Similarly, thecomputing system might compensate a user or owner associated with thesecond drone if not fully charged and if required to continue chargingor replacing its batteries after the first drone is serviced,particularly for any battery power used while hovering or otherwisewaiting while the first drone is being serviced. Although this exampleis directed to battery status—based coordination of drones relative toplatforms, the various embodiments are not so limited, and the mightalso be directed to, but not limited to: coordination of drones relativeto platforms to expand or augment wireless network coverage using droneswith onboard base stations or wireless network relay systems;coordination of drones relative to platforms to fill gaps in networkcoverage due to disabled, damaged, or inoperable wireless communicationsnodes (which might include drones, stationary base stations,telecommunications towers, network access points, etc.) using similardrones; coordination of drones relative to platforms to better monitoror track one or more of vehicular accidents, criminal activities,man-made disasters, natural disasters, real-time traffic patterns,weather conditions, missing persons, missing vehicles or drones, damagedvehicles or drones, packages for delivery, and/or the like; coordinationof drones relative to platforms to repair or retrieve lost or damagedvehicles or drones, lost or damaged packages, damaged telecommunicationsequipment, and/or the like; coordination of drones relative to platformsto avoid restricted or dangerous areas (e.g., no-fly zones, privateproperty, government property, disaster zones, emergency response zones,etc.); coordination of drones relative to platforms to adjustorientation, direction, or elevation of one or more drones to correct,enhance, or improve wireless communications with one or more otherdrones, one or more platforms, one or more user devices, and/or one ormore wireless network nodes, based at least in part on status of thewireless connectivity of the one or more drones; coordination of dronesrelative to platforms and/or other drones to optimize, manage, orbalance energy consumption by the drones; coordination of dronesrelative to platforms and/or other drones to optimize travel time;and/or the like. Information regarding restricted or dangerous areasmight be obtained by polling federal databases, by using commercialmapping data, by searching self-learning databases, by using imagerecognition of particular areas near the navigation path(s), bycommunicating with nearby platforms, drones, and/or master controllerrelay devices, and/or the like.

In some embodiments, while a drone is docked with a platform or whilethe drone is within particular or predetermined distance from theplatform, software updates, control instructions, and/or otherinformation can be pushed to the drone via the platform. Similarly, insuch situations, information (e.g., status information, video data (ifany), audio data (if any), location log data (if any), and/or the like)can be sent from the drones to a computing system via the platform.

The one or more vehicles or drones 420, the one or more platforms 405,435, and 495 (or sub-platform 415), and the one or more ground-basedsignal distribution devices 450 a or 450 b of embodiments 400, 400′, and400″ of FIG. 4 might otherwise be the same as, or similar to, the one ormore vehicles 105, the one or more platforms 120, and the one or morewireless network nodes 135, respectively, of system 100 of FIG. 1, andsimilar descriptions apply to the components of embodiments 400, 400′,and 400″ of FIG. 4.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a non-limiting embodiment 500of a self-organizing mobile network (“SOMNET”) of drones and platforms.The SOMNET 500 of drones and platforms changes over time as drones movebeyond the range of the components in the SOMNET 500, as drones and/orplatforms experience device failure, as drones and/or platforms becomedisabled, as new drones (i.e., drones not previously part of the SOMNET,etc.) join the SOMNET 500, as new platforms (i.e., platforms notpreviously part of the SOMNET, etc.) join the SOMNET 500, or anycombination of these occurrences, and/or the like. In other cases

With reference to FIG. 5, SON 500, in accordance with a set ofnon-limiting embodiments, might comprise computing system 505, one ormore platforms 510, and vehicles A through F 515 a-515 f (collectively,“vehicles 515,” “drones 515,” “devices 515,” and/or the like), and/orthe like. Periodically, occasionally, as part of a tack, or uponrequest, and/or the like, the vehicles A through F 515 a-515 f eachmight send beacon data 520 a-520 f (collectively, “beacon data 520” or“data 520,” or the like), respectively, to at least one platform of theone or more platforms 510 or might generally broadcast the beacon data520, which might be received by the at least one platform 510 (eitherdirectly or via one or more of the other vehicles 515). The beacon data520, according to some embodiments, might include, without limitation,at least one of a unique identifier assigned to a particular one of thevehicles A through F 515 a-515 f, signal strength or transmission powerlevel of the beacon data, current battery level of the particular one ofthe vehicles A through F 515 a-515 f, remaining battery level of theparticular one of the vehicles A through F 515 a-515 f, geographiclocation information of the particular one of the vehicles A through F515 a-515 f, relative location information of the particular one of thevehicles A through F 515 a-515 f with respect to other vehicles 515,communication transmission power level, or configuration parameters,and/or the like. In some cases, the unique identifier assigned to aparticular one of the vehicles 515 might include, but is not limited to,identifiers that are at least one of Internet Protocol (“IP”)—based(e.g., a unique IPv6 identifier, or the like), location based, or mediaaccess control identification (“MAC ID”)—based, and/or the like.

In some embodiments, the at least one platform 510 might autonomouslycompare the received beacon data 520 with stored beacon data (i.e.,beacon data that is stored in a data store of the at least one platform510, such as data store 210 c of FIG. 2, or the like), and mightdetermine whether the received beacon data differs from the storedbeacon data (which might indicate whether a new vehicle is detected,whether a previously known vehicle has failed, whether a previouslyknown vehicle has been disabled, whether a previously known vehicle hasmoved out of range, whether a new platform is detected, whether apreviously known platform has failed, whether a previously knownplatform has been disabled, and/or the like). Based on a determinationthat the received beacon data differs from the stored beacon data, theat least one platform 510 might autonomously send at least one firstdata 525 to computing system 505 (which might correspond to computingsystem(s) 145 and 295 of FIGS. 1 and 2, or the like), or might otherwiseupdate the computing system 505 with information regarding the nodes orcomponents (i.e., vehicles 515 and/or platforms 510, or the like) in theSOMNET 500 (e.g., based at least in part on the beacon data 520, thestored beacon data, and/or the like), or the like. The at least onefirst data 525 might comprise data regarding the vehicles 515 a-515 fand/or regarding any new vehicles, any previously known vehicles thathave now failed, any previously known vehicles have now been disabled,any previously known vehicles have now moved out of range, dataregarding the one or more platforms 510 and/or regarding any newplatforms, any previously known platforms that have now failed, anypreviously known platforms that have now been disabled, and/or the like.In some cases, the received beacon data 525 a-525 f might replace thestored beacon data. Alternatively, any received beacon data 525 might betime stamped and saved with previously received and time-stamped beacondata 525. The beacon data 525 might either be backed up at a database(e.g., database(s) 150 of FIG. 1, or the like), and/or the oldest set ofbeacon data 525 (i.e., at the earliest stored time period) might bedeleted so that the latest set of beacon data 525 (i.e., at the currenttime period) can be saved in the local data store (in such cases, apredetermined number of sets of beacon data at their respective timeperiods as time stamped can be saved in the local data store, subject tochange in number due to remaining storage space in the local data storeand due to the number of vehicles and/or platforms potentiallyincreasing or decreasing at different time periods).

Although platform(s) 510 is shown in FIG. 5 as transmitting or relayingdata 525 directly to computing system 505, the various embodiments arenot so limited, and intermediary network devices or other devices mightrelay data 525 between platform(s) 510 and computing system 505.Further, although platform(s) 510 is shown in FIG. 5 as collectingbeacon data 520 from vehicles 515 and sending data 525 based on thecollected beacon data 520 or based on updated/modified beacon data 520(as described above), the various embodiments are not so limited, andany one (or more) of the vehicles 515 might collect beacon data 520 fromother vehicles 515 (and in some cases, from platforms 510 as well), andmight send data 525 based on the collected beacon data 520 or based onupdated/modified beacon data 520 (in a similar manner as describedabove).

The one or more vehicles or drones 515 a-515 f, the one or moreplatforms 510, and the computing system 505 of SOMNET 500 of FIG. 5might otherwise be the same as, or similar to, the one or more vehicles105, the one or more platforms 120, and the one or more computingsystems 145, respectively, of system 100 of FIG. 1, and similardescriptions apply to the components of system 500 of FIG. 5.

FIGS. 6A-6H (collectively, “FIG. 6”) are flow diagrams illustrating amethod 600 for implementing SOMNETs of drones, in accordance withvarious embodiments.

While the techniques and procedures are depicted and/or described in acertain order for purposes of illustration, it should be appreciatedthat certain procedures may be reordered and/or omitted within the scopeof various embodiments. Moreover, while the method 600 illustrated byFIG. 6 can be implemented by or with (and, in some cases, are describedbelow with respect to) the systems or embodiments 100, 200, 300, 400,400′, 400″, and 500 of FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4A, 4B, 4C, and 5, respectively(or components thereof), such methods may also be implemented using anysuitable hardware (or software) implementation. Similarly, while each ofthe systems or embodiments 100, 200, 300, 400, 400′, 400″, and 500 ofFIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4A, 4B, 4C, and 5, respectively (or components thereof),can operate according to the method 600 illustrated by FIG. 6 (e.g., byexecuting instructions embodied on a computer readable medium), thesystems or embodiments 100, 200, 300, 400, 400′, 400″, and 500 of FIGS.1, 2, 3, 4A, 4B, 4C, and 5 can each also operate according to othermodes of operation and/or perform other suitable procedures.

In the non-limiting embodiment of FIG. 6A, method 600 might comprisereceiving, with a computing system, one or more requests for one of aplurality of vehicles to perform one or more tasks (block 602);receiving, with the computing system, at least one first data from atleast one first vehicle of the plurality of vehicles, the at least onefirst data comprising data regarding one or more second vehicles of theplurality of vehicles of a self-organizing mobile network (“SOMNET”) ofvehicles (block 604); and analyzing, with the computing system, the atleast one first data to determine a status of at least one secondvehicle of the one or more second vehicles (block 606). Method 600, atblock 608, might further comprise determining, with the computingsystem, whether the at least one second vehicle is capable of performingat least one task of the one or more. If so, method 700 might proceed tothe process at block 610. If not, method 700 might proceed to theprocess at block 614.

In response to receiving the one or more requests and based at least inpart on a determination that the at least one second vehicle is capableof performing at least one task of the one or more tasks (as determinedat block 608), generating, with the computing system, one or more firstcontrol instructions (block 610) and sending, with the computing system,the one or more first control instructions to the at least one secondvehicle (block 612). The one or more first control instructions mightcause each of the at least one second vehicle to perform one or morefirst actions.

Alternatively, in response to receiving the one or more requests andbased at least in part on a determination that the at least one secondvehicle is unable to perform the at least one task of the one or moretasks (as determined at block 608), identifying, with the computingsystem, at least one third vehicle of the one or more second vehiclesthat is capable of performing the at least one task of the one or moretasks and that is within a predetermined geographic range (block 614);generating, with the computing system, one or more second controlinstructions (block 616); and sending, with the computing system, theone or more second control instructions to the at least one thirdvehicle, the one or more second control instructions causing each of theat least one third vehicle to perform the one or more first actions(block 618). In some instances, the one or more second vehicles mightcomprise the first vehicle (in some cases, the first vehicle and atleast one of the second vehicles might be the same vehicle).

In some embodiments, the computing system might include, withoutlimitation, at least one of one or more vehicle processors disposed inone of the plurality of vehicles, one or more processors disposed in auser device associated with an operator of a service provider, aself-organizing network (“SON”) server, a service provider server, agateway device, a computing node, a server computer, a distributedcomputing system, a distributed computing system that integratescomputing resources from two or more vehicles, or a cloud computingsystem, and/or the like. In some cases, each of the plurality ofvehicles might comprise one of a manned vehicle or an unmanned vehicle.Each manned vehicle might include, but is not limited to, one of a car,a motorcycle, an all-terrain vehicle, a truck, a van, a semi-trailertruck, an aircraft, a subterranean vehicle, an amphibious vehicle, or awater craft, and/or the like. Each unmanned vehicle might include,without limitation, one of an aerial drone, a land-based drone, awater-based drone, a subterranean drone, an amphibious drone, a robot,or an autonomous vehicle, and/or the like.

In some cases, at least one vehicle of the plurality of vehicles mightcomprise an inductive charging system that charges via inductive powertransfer from one or more charging pads in a corresponding chargingplatform with which the at least one vehicle docks. In some instances,the determined status of the at least one second vehicle might include,without limitation, one of current battery charge level, remainingbattery charge level, current geographic location, one or more currentlyplotted destinations, one or more currently plotted courses, proximityto one or more charging platforms, proximity to one or morecommunications platforms, proximity to one or more nearby vehicles,communications status with one or more nearby vehicles, new devicestatus within the SOMNET, registration status within the SOMNET,availability to perform at least one of the one or more tasks, status ofcurrent task, status of one or more onboard tools, device failurestatus, disabled device status, or out-of-range device status, and/orthe like.

Merely by way of example, at least one first vehicle of the plurality ofvehicles might each receive beacon data from each of at least one secondvehicle of the one or more second vehicles. The data regarding the oneor more second vehicles might comprise the beacon data from each of theat least one second vehicle. In some cases, the beacon data from each ofthe at least one second vehicle might include, but is not limited to, atleast one of a unique identifier assigned to a particular one of the atleast one second vehicle, signal strength of the beacon data, currentbattery level of the at least one second vehicle, remaining batterylevel of the at least one second vehicle, geographic locationinformation of the particular one of the at least one second vehicle,relative location information of the particular one of the at least onesecond vehicle with respect to other vehicles, communication transmitpower level, or configuration parameters, and/or the like.

According to some embodiments, the one or more first actions mightinclude, without limitation, at least one of establishing wirelessnetwork communications between a built-in mobile wireless base stationand at least one wireless network node of a telecommunications networkto augment wireless network functionality, establishing wireless networkcommunications between a built-in mobile wireless base station and atleast one wireless network node of a telecommunications network toextend wireless network functionality, monitoring for vehicularaccidents, monitoring for criminal activities, monitoring for man-madedisasters, monitoring for natural disasters, tracking real-time trafficpatterns, tracking one or more weather conditions, recovering one ormore lost vehicles, recovering one or more damaged vehicles, deliveringone or more packages, tracking one or more packages being delivered, orrepairing one or more telecommunications equipment, and/or the like. Insome embodiments, wireless base stations that might be used inconjunction with the various embodiments might include, but are notlimited to, a base station that is integrated with a vehicle (e.g., thebuilt-in mobile wireless base station described above, which might havea way to provide a backhaul link to a database or might contain abuilt-in database), a base station that is portable but functions as astationary wireless base station once deployed (e.g., similar to a cellon wheels (“COW”) or the like), a base station that is permanentlydeployed at a stationary geographic location, a base station that isused as an extender or repeater, and/or the like. In some cases, thepermanent wireless network node or base station might be part of eithera wireless network service provider or a wireline network serviceprovider. A small cell could be attached to wireline access equipment.In some instances, portions of the permanent wireless network node couldbe virtualized (either centralized or distributed), or the like.

With reference to FIG. 6B, the one or more second vehicles might eachcomprise at least one of a vehicle or a drone, or the like, and each ofthe one or more second vehicles might comprise a mobile wireless basestation. Method 600 might further comprise deploying, with the computingsystem, the one or more second vehicles to at least one geographic areato extend a wireless range of a telecommunications network (block 620);and establishing, with the computing system, wireless networkcommunications between the mobile wireless base station and at least onewireless network node of the telecommunications network (block 622).

Referring to FIG. 6C, the one or more second vehicles might eachcomprise at least one of a vehicle or a drone, and/or the like. Each ofthe one or more second vehicles might comprise one or more weathersensors including, without limitation, at least one of one or morepressure sensors, one or more temperature sensors, one or more motionsensors, one or more solar light sensors, one or more ambient lightsensors, one or more infra-red sensors, one or more ultra-violetsensors, one or more sound sensors, one or more seismic sensors, one ormore air quality sensors, one or more moisture sensors, one or more windsensors, or one or more particulate sensors, and/or the like. Method 600might further comprise tracking, with the one or more weather sensors,weather conditions in one or more geographic areas (block 624);receiving, with the computing system, data from the one or more weathersensors tracking the weather conditions in the one or more geographicareas (block 626); and sending, with the computing system, one or moremessages to at least one of one or more user devices associated withcustomers in the one or more geographic areas, one or more lawenforcement agencies, one or more emergency response agencies, or one ormore federal agencies, based at least in part on the received data fromthe one or more weather sensors (block 628).

Turning to FIG. 6D, the one or more second vehicles might each compriseat least one of a vehicle or a drone, or the like. Each of the one ormore second vehicles might comprise at least one of one or more camerasor one or more microphones, and/or the like. Method 600 might furthercomprise monitoring, with the at least one of one or more cameras or oneor more microphones, at least one of one or more vehicular accidents,one or more criminal activities, one or more man-made disasters, or oneor more natural disasters (block 630); receiving, with the computingsystem, at least one of video or audio content from the monitored atleast one of one or more vehicular accidents, one or more criminalactivities, one or more man-made disasters, or one or more naturaldisasters (block 632); and sending, with the computing system, one ormore messages to at least one of one or more law enforcement agencies,one or more emergency response agencies, one or more towing servicecompanies, or one or more federal agencies, based at least in part onthe received at least one video or audio content (block 634).

Regarding FIG. 6E, the one or more second vehicles each comprises atleast one of a vehicle or a drone, and/or the like. Method 600 mightfurther comprise determining, with the computing system and based atleast in part on the status of the at least one second vehicle of theone or more second vehicles, whether at least one fourth vehicle of theone or more second vehicles is at least one of disabled, damaged, orinoperable (block 636); determining, with the computing system, alocation of the at least one fourth vehicle that has been determined tobe at least one of disabled, damaged, or inoperable (block 638);deploying, with the computing system, at least one fifth vehicle of theone or more second vehicles to the location of the at least one fourthvehicle that has been determined to be at least one of disabled,damaged, or inoperable (block 640); and determining, with the computingsystem, whether the at least one fourth vehicle is capable of beingrepaired on-site (block 642). Based on a determination that the at leastone fourth vehicle is capable of being repaired on-site (as determinedat block 642), repairing, using one or more repair tools of the at leastone fifth vehicle, the at least one fourth vehicle (block 644).Alternatively, based on a determination that the at least one fourthvehicle is incapable of being repaired on-site (as determined at block642), retrieving, using one or more retrieval tools of the at least onefifth vehicle, the at least one fourth vehicle and transporting the atleast one fourth vehicle to a repair facility (block 646).

With reference to FIG. 6F, the one or more second vehicles might eachcomprise at least one of a vehicle or a drone, and/or the like. Method600 might further comprise retrieving, using one or more packagedelivery tools of the one or more second vehicles, one or more packages(block 648); deploying, with the computing system, the one or moresecond vehicles to one or more customer locations with the retrieved oneor more packages (block 650); and delivering, with the one or moresecond vehicles, each of the retrieved one or more packages to acorresponding one of the one or more customer locations (block 652). Insome embodiments, the one or more customer locations might include,without limitation, at least one of one or more customer premises, oneor more parked customer vehicles, one or more moving customer vehicles,one or more current locations of a user device associated with arecipient of at least one of the one or more packages, one or moreanticipated locations of a user device associated with a recipient of atleast one of the one or more packages, or one or more designateddelivery locations, and/or the like.

Referring to FIG. 6G, the one or more second vehicles might eachcomprise at least one of a vehicle or a drone, and/or the like. Each ofthe one or more second vehicles might comprise at least one of one ormore cameras or one or more microphones, and/or the like. Method 600might further comprise monitoring, with the at least one of one or morecameras or one or more microphones, at least one package being deliveredto one or more customer locations (block 654); receiving, with thecomputing system, at least one of video or audio content from themonitored at least one package being delivered to the one or morecustomer locations (block 656); and sending, with the computing system,one or more messages to at least one of one or more user devicesassociated with customers who are located at the one or more customerlocations, one or more devices associated with a service providerdeploying the one or more second vehicles, one or more devicesassociated with a delivery company delivering the at least one package,or one or more devices associated with one or more merchants who soldthe at least one package to the customers, and/or the like (block 658).According to some embodiments, the one or more customer locations mightinclude, but are not limited to, at least one of one or more customerpremises, one or more parked customer vehicles, one or more movingcustomer vehicles, or one or more designated delivery locations, and/orthe like. According to some embodiments, the one or more messages thatare sent might include, without limitation, a delivery notificationnotifying the recipient of an approximate arrival time and location sothe recipient can be present during delivery, a delivery notificationincluding an option for the recipient to reschedule delivery, and/or thelike. In some cases, the one or more messages might take the form of avoicemail message, a short message service (“SMS”) message, a textmessage, an e-mail message, a combination of such messages, and/or thelike.

Turning to FIG. 6H, the one or more second vehicles might each compriseat least one of a vehicle or a drone, and/or the like. Method 600 mightfurther comprise determining, with the computing system, whether one ormore telecommunications equipment within a geographic area are at leastone of disabled, damaged, or inoperable (block 660); determining, withthe computing system, a location of the one or more telecommunicationsequipment that have been determined to be at least one of disabled,damaged, or inoperable (block 662); deploying, with the computingsystem, at least one sixth vehicle of the one or more second vehicles tothe location of each of the one or more telecommunications equipmentthat have been determined to be at least one of disabled, damaged, orinoperable (block 664); and determining, with the computing system,whether the one or more telecommunications equipment are capable ofbeing repaired on-site (block 666). Based on a determination that atleast one of the one or more telecommunications equipment are capable ofbeing repaired on-site (as determined at block 666), repairing, usingone or more repair tools of the at least one sixth vehicle, the at leastone of the one or more telecommunications equipment that are capable ofbeing repaired on-site (block 668). Alternatively, based on adetermination that at least one of the one or more telecommunicationsequipment are incapable of being repaired on-site (as determined atblock 666), retrieving, using one or more retrieval tools of the atleast one sixth vehicle, the at least one of the one or moretelecommunications equipment that are incapable of being repairedon-site and transporting the at least one of the one or moretelecommunications equipment to a repair facility (block 670).

FIGS. 7A-7D (collectively, “FIG. 7”) are flow diagrams illustrating amethod 700 for implementing SOMNETs of drones and platforms, inaccordance with various embodiments.

While the techniques and procedures are depicted and/or described in acertain order for purposes of illustration, it should be appreciatedthat certain procedures may be reordered and/or omitted within the scopeof various embodiments. Moreover, while the method 700 illustrated byFIG. 7 can be implemented by or with (and, in some cases, are describedbelow with respect to) the systems or embodiments 100, 200, 300, 400,400′, 400″, and 500 of FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4A, 4B, 4C, and 5, respectively(or components thereof), such methods may also be implemented using anysuitable hardware (or software) implementation. Similarly, while each ofthe systems or embodiments 100, 200, 300, 400, 400′, 400″, and 500 ofFIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4A, 4B, 4C, and 5, respectively (or components thereof),can operate according to the method 700 illustrated by FIG. 7 (e.g., byexecuting instructions embodied on a computer readable medium), thesystems or embodiments 100, 200, 300, 400, 400′, 400″, and 500 of FIGS.1, 2, 3, 4A, 4B, 4C, and 5 can each also operate according to othermodes of operation and/or perform other suitable procedures.

In the non-limiting embodiment of FIG. 7A, method 700 might comprisereceiving, with a computing system, at least one first data from each ofa plurality of vehicles of a self-organizing mobile network (“SOMNET”)of vehicles. The at least one first data might comprise status dataregarding each vehicle of the plurality of vehicles (block 705). Atblock 710, method 700 might comprise receiving, with the computingsystem, at least one second data from each of a plurality of platforms.The at least one second data might comprise status data regarding eachplatform of the plurality of platforms. Method 700 might furthercomprise analyzing, with the computing system, the at least one firstdata to determine a status of each of the plurality of vehicles (block715) and analyzing, with the computing system, the at least one seconddata to determine a status of each of the plurality of platforms (block720).

Method 700 might comprise, at block 725, based at least in part on theanalyzed at least one first data and the analyzed at least one seconddata, generating, with the computing system, at least one of one or morefirst control instructions to at least one first vehicle of theplurality of vehicles or one or more second control instructions to atleast one first platform of the plurality of platforms. The one or morefirst control instructions might cause each of the at least one firstvehicle to perform one or more first actions, while the one or moresecond control instructions might cause each of the at least one firstplatform to perform one or more second actions.

In some embodiments, the computing system might include, withoutlimitation, at least one of one or more vehicle processors disposed inone of the plurality of vehicles, one or more processors disposed in auser device associated with an operator of a service provider, aself-organizing network (“SON”) server, a service provider server, agateway device, a computing node, a server computer, a distributedcomputing system, a distributed computing system that integratescomputing resources from two or more vehicles, or a cloud computingsystem, and/or the like. In some cases, each of the plurality ofvehicles might comprise one of a manned vehicle or an unmanned vehicle.Each manned vehicle might include, but is not limited to, one of a car,a motorcycle, an all-terrain vehicle, a truck, a van, a semi-trailertruck, an aircraft, a subterranean vehicle, an amphibious vehicle, or awater craft, and/or the like. Each unmanned vehicle might include,without limitation, one of an aerial drone, a land-based drone, awater-based drone, a subterranean drone, an amphibious drone, a robot,or an autonomous vehicle, and/or the like.

According to some embodiments, each of the plurality of platforms mightcomprise one of a stationary platform or a mobile platform. In someinstances, each stationary platform might include, but is not limitedto, one of a telephone pole-based platform, a utility pole-basedplatform, a tower-based platform, a buoy-based platform, a hangar-basedplatform, a building-based platform, or a pedestal-based platform,and/or the like. Each mobile platform might include, without limitation,one of a cargo-trailer-based platform, a cargo-container-based platform,a van-based platform, a truck-based platform, an aircraft-basedplatform, a train-based platform, or a boat-based platform, and/or thelike.

In some cases, at least one vehicle of the plurality of vehicles mightcomprise an inductive charging system that charges via inductive powertransfer from one or more charging pads in a corresponding chargingplatform with which the at least one vehicle docks. In some instances,the determined status of the at least one second vehicle might include,without limitation, one of current battery charge level, remainingbattery charge level, current geographic location, one or more currentlyplotted destinations, one or more currently plotted courses, proximityto one or more charging platforms, proximity to one or morecommunications platforms, proximity to one or more nearby vehicles,communications status with one or more nearby vehicles, new devicestatus within the SOMNET, registration status within the SOMNET,availability to perform at least one of the one or more tasks, status ofcurrent task, status of one or more onboard tools, device failurestatus, disabled device status, or out-of-range device status, and/orthe like.

Merely by way of example, at least one second vehicle of the pluralityof vehicles might each receive beacon data from at least one thirdvehicle of the plurality of vehicles. The data regarding the at leastone third vehicle might comprise the beacon data from each of the atleast one third vehicle. In some cases, the beacon data from each of theat least one third vehicle might include, but is not limited to, atleast one of a unique identifier assigned to a particular one of the atleast one third vehicle, signal strength of the beacon data, currentbattery level of the at least one third vehicle, remaining battery levelof the at least one third vehicle, geographic location information ofthe particular one of the at least one third vehicle, relative locationinformation of the particular one of the at least one third vehicle withrespect to other vehicles, communication transmit power level, orconfiguration parameters, and/or the like.

According to some embodiments, the one or more first actions mightinclude, without limitation, at least one of establishing wirelessnetwork communications between a built-in mobile wireless base stationand at least one wireless network node of a telecommunications networkto augment wireless network functionality, establishing wireless networkcommunications between a built-in mobile wireless base station and atleast one wireless network node of a telecommunications network toextend wireless network functionality, monitoring for vehicularaccidents, monitoring for criminal activities, monitoring for man-madedisasters, monitoring for natural disasters, tracking real-time trafficpatterns, tracking one or more weather conditions, recovering one ormore lost vehicles, recovering one or more damaged vehicles, deliveringone or more packages, tracking one or more packages being delivered, orrepairing one or more telecommunications equipment, and/or the like.

In some embodiments, the one or more second actions might include, butare not limited to, at least one of controlling one or more vehicles ofthe plurality of vehicles to travel within a geographic area,controlling a vehicle of the plurality of vehicles to dock with one ormore of the plurality of platforms, rerouting one or more vehicles ofthe plurality of vehicles along one or more alternative paths, reroutingone or more vehicles of the plurality of vehicles to avoid no-fly-zones,recharging a vehicle docked with one of the plurality of platforms,replacing at least one battery of a vehicle docked with one of theplurality of platforms with at least one replacement battery, installingat least one tool on a vehicle docked with one of the plurality ofplatforms, replacing at least one tool of a vehicle docked with one ofthe plurality of platforms with at least one replacement tool, repairingone of the plurality of vehicles docked with one of the plurality ofplatforms, preventing docking by unauthorized vehicles, remotelydisabling one or more vehicles of the plurality of vehicles, pushing oneor more software updates to one of the plurality of vehicles docked withone of the plurality of platforms, broadcasting platform resourceinformation to one or more of the plurality of vehicles, establishingwireless network communications between a built-in mobile wireless basestation and at least one wireless network node of a telecommunicationsnetwork to augment wireless network functionality, establishing wirelessnetwork communications between a built-in mobile wireless base stationand at least one wireless network node of a telecommunications networkto extend wireless network functionality, monitoring for vehicularaccidents, monitoring for criminal activities, monitoring for man-madedisasters, monitoring for natural disasters, tracking real-time trafficpatterns, tracking one or more weather conditions, or tracking one ormore packages being delivered, and/or the like. In some cases, theplatform resource information might include, without limitation, atleast one of resources available at a particular broadcasting platform,capabilities of a particular broadcasting platform, profiles of aparticular broadcasting platform, rates of services provided by aparticular broadcasting platform, or types of batteries available at aparticular broadcasting platform, and/or the like.

With reference to FIG. 7B, method 700 might further comprisedetermining, with the computing system, whether a fourth vehicle of theplurality of vehicles is unauthorized to dock with at least one firstplatform of the plurality of platforms (block 730); and based on adetermination that the fourth vehicle is unauthorized to dock with theat least one first platform, preventing, with the computing system,docking by the unauthorized fourth vehicle, by performing one ofrerouting the fourth vehicle away from the at least one first platform,tilting one or more docking portions of the at least one first platformavoid docking by the fourth vehicle, or raising one or more blockingspikes (or deploying one or more barriers) to prevent docking by thefourth vehicle, and/or the like (block 735).

Referring to FIG. 7C, method 700 might further comprise tracking, withthe computing system, at least one of one or more weather conditions,one or more man-made disasters, or one or more natural disasters, and/orthe like (block 740); and determining, with the computing system,whether at least one second platform of the plurality of platforms is inthe path of the at least one of one or more weather conditions, one ormore man-made disasters, or one or more natural disasters, and/or thelike (block 745). At block 750, method 700 might comprise, based on adetermination that the at least one second platform of the plurality ofplatforms is in the path of the at least one of one or more weatherconditions, one or more man-made disasters, or one or more naturaldisasters, and/or the like, and based on a determination that a fifthvehicle of the plurality of vehicles is currently docked with the atleast one second platform, engaging, with the computing system, one ormore clamps to secure the at least one fifth vehicle to the at least onesecond platform. The one or more clamps might include, withoutlimitation, at least one of one or more magnetic clamps, one or moreelectro-magnetic clamps, or one or more mechanical clamps, and/or thelike.

Turning to FIG. 7D, method 700 might further comprise mapping, with thecomputing system, two or more sixth vehicles of the plurality ofvehicles (block 755); mapping, with the computing system, two or morethird platforms of the plurality of platforms (block 760); determining,with the computing system, the status of each of the two or more sixthvehicles, based at least in part on the at least one first datacorresponding to each of the two or more sixth vehicles (block 765);determining, with the computing system, the status of each of the two ormore third platforms, based at least in part on the at least one seconddata corresponding to each of the two or more third platforms (block770); and coordinating, with the computing system, movement of at leastone of the two or more sixth vehicles in relation to at least one of thetwo or more third platforms, based at least in part on the status ofeach of the two or more sixth vehicles and on the status of each of thetwo or more third platforms (block 775).

Exemplary System and Hardware Implementation

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary computer or systemhardware architecture, in accordance with various embodiments. FIG. 8provides a schematic illustration of one embodiment of a computer system800 of the service provider system hardware that can perform the methodsprovided by various other embodiments, as described herein, and/or canperform the functions of computer or hardware system (i.e., vehicles105, 110 a-110 n, 115 a-115 n, 205, 320, 420, and 515 a-515 f, platforms120 a-120 n, 210, 325, 405, 435, 495, and 510, user devices 125 a-125 nand 285, wireless network nodes 135, 290, and 330, and computingsystem(s) 145, 295, and 505, etc.), as described above. It should benoted that FIG. 8 is meant only to provide a generalized illustration ofvarious components, of which one or more (or none) of each may beutilized as appropriate. FIG. 8, therefore, broadly illustrates howindividual system elements may be implemented in a relatively separatedor relatively more integrated manner.

The computer or hardware system 800—which might represent an embodimentof the computer or hardware system (i.e., vehicles 105, 110 a-110 n, 115a-115 n, 205, 320, 420, and 515 a-515 f, platforms 120 a-120 n, 210,325, 405, 435, 495, and 510, user devices 125 a-125 n and 285, wirelessnetwork nodes 135, 290, and 330, and computing system(s) 145, 295, and505, etc.), described above with respect to FIGS. 1-7—is showncomprising hardware elements that can be electrically coupled via a bus805 (or may otherwise be in communication, as appropriate). The hardwareelements may include one or more processors 810, including, withoutlimitation, one or more general-purpose processors and/or one or morespecial-purpose processors (such as microprocessors, digital signalprocessing chips, graphics acceleration processors, and/or the like);one or more input devices 815, which can include, without limitation, amouse, a keyboard and/or the like; and one or more output devices 820,which can include, without limitation, a display device, a printer,and/or the like.

The computer or hardware system 800 may further include (and/or be incommunication with) one or more storage devices 825, which can comprise,without limitation, local and/or network accessible storage, and/or caninclude, without limitation, a disk drive, a drive array, an opticalstorage device, solid-state storage device such as a random accessmemory (“RAM”) and/or a read-only memory (“ROM”), which can beprogrammable, flash-updateable and/or the like. Such storage devices maybe configured to implement any appropriate data stores, including,without limitation, various file systems, database structures, and/orthe like.

The computer or hardware system 800 might also include a communicationssubsystem 830, which can include, without limitation, a modem, a networkcard (wireless or wired), an infra-red communication device, a wirelesscommunication device and/or chipset (such as a Bluetooth™ device, an802.11 device, a WiFi device, a WiMax device, a WWAN device, a Z-Wavedevice, a ZigBee device, cellular communication facilities, etc.),and/or the like. The communications subsystem 830 may permit data to beexchanged with a network (such as the network described below, to nameone example), with other computer or hardware systems, and/or with anyother devices described herein. In many embodiments, the computer orhardware system 800 will further comprise a working memory 835, whichcan include a RAM or ROM device, as described above.

The computer or hardware system 800 also may comprise software elements,shown as being currently located within the working memory 835,including an operating system 840, device drivers, executable libraries,and/or other code, such as one or more application programs 845, whichmay comprise computer programs provided by various embodiments(including, without limitation, hypervisors, VMs, and the like), and/ormay be designed to implement methods, and/or configure systems, providedby other embodiments, as described herein. Merely by way of example, oneor more procedures described with respect to the method(s) discussedabove might be implemented as code and/or instructions executable by acomputer (and/or a processor within a computer); in an aspect, then,such code and/or instructions can be used to configure and/or adapt ageneral purpose computer (or other device) to perform one or moreoperations in accordance with the described methods.

A set of these instructions and/or code might be encoded and/or storedon a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, such as thestorage device(s) 825 described above. In some cases, the storage mediummight be incorporated within a computer system, such as the system 800.In other embodiments, the storage medium might be separate from acomputer system (i.e., a removable medium, such as a compact disc,etc.), and/or provided in an installation package, such that the storagemedium can be used to program, configure and/or adapt a general purposecomputer with the instructions/code stored thereon. These instructionsmight take the form of executable code, which is executable by thecomputer or hardware system 800 and/or might take the form of sourceand/or installable code, which, upon compilation and/or installation onthe computer or hardware system 800 (e.g., using any of a variety ofgenerally available compilers, installation programs,compression/decompression utilities, etc.) then takes the form ofexecutable code.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that substantialvariations may be made in accordance with specific requirements. Forexample, customized hardware (such as programmable logic controllers,field-programmable gate arrays, application-specific integratedcircuits, and/or the like) might also be used, and/or particularelements might be implemented in hardware, software (including portablesoftware, such as applets, etc.), or both. Further, connection to othercomputing devices such as network input/output devices may be employed.

As mentioned above, in one aspect, some embodiments may employ acomputer or hardware system (such as the computer or hardware system800) to perform methods in accordance with various embodiments of theinvention. According to a set of embodiments, some or all of theprocedures of such methods are performed by the computer or hardwaresystem 800 in response to processor 810 executing one or more sequencesof one or more instructions (which might be incorporated into theoperating system 840 and/or other code, such as an application program845) contained in the working memory 835. Such instructions may be readinto the working memory 835 from another computer readable medium, suchas one or more of the storage device(s) 825. Merely by way of example,execution of the sequences of instructions contained in the workingmemory 835 might cause the processor(s) 810 to perform one or moreprocedures of the methods described herein.

The terms “machine readable medium” and “computer readable medium,” asused herein, refer to any medium that participates in providing datathat causes a machine to operate in a specific fashion. In an embodimentimplemented using the computer or hardware system 800, various computerreadable media might be involved in providing instructions/code toprocessor(s) 810 for execution and/or might be used to store and/orcarry such instructions/code (e.g., as signals). In manyimplementations, a computer readable medium is a non-transitory,physical, and/or tangible storage medium. In some embodiments, acomputer readable medium may take many forms, including, but not limitedto, non-volatile media, volatile media, or the like. Non-volatile mediaincludes, for example, optical and/or magnetic disks, such as thestorage device(s) 825. Volatile media includes, without limitation,dynamic memory, such as the working memory 835. In some alternativeembodiments, a computer readable medium may take the form oftransmission media, which includes, without limitation, coaxial cables,copper wire and fiber optics, including the wires that comprise the bus805, as well as the various components of the communication subsystem830 (and/or the media by which the communications subsystem 830 providescommunication with other devices). In an alternative set of embodiments,transmission media can also take the form of waves (including withoutlimitation radio, acoustic and/or light waves, such as those generatedduring radio-wave and infra-red data communications).

Common forms of physical and/or tangible computer readable mediainclude, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, a hard disk,magnetic tape, or any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, any other opticalmedium, punch cards, paper tape, any other physical medium with patternsof holes, a RAM, a PROM, and EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chipor cartridge, a carrier wave as described hereinafter, or any othermedium from which a computer can read instructions and/or code.

Various forms of computer readable media may be involved in carrying oneor more sequences of one or more instructions to the processor(s) 810for execution. Merely by way of example, the instructions may initiallybe carried on a magnetic disk and/or optical disc of a remote computer.A remote computer might load the instructions into its dynamic memoryand send the instructions as signals over a transmission medium to bereceived and/or executed by the computer or hardware system 800. Thesesignals, which might be in the form of electromagnetic signals, acousticsignals, optical signals, and/or the like, are all examples of carrierwaves on which instructions can be encoded, in accordance with variousembodiments of the invention.

The communications subsystem 830 (and/or components thereof) generallywill receive the signals, and the bus 805 then might carry the signals(and/or the data, instructions, etc. carried by the signals) to theworking memory 835, from which the processor(s) 805 retrieves andexecutes the instructions. The instructions received by the workingmemory 835 may optionally be stored on a storage device 825 eitherbefore or after execution by the processor(s) 810.

As noted above, a set of embodiments comprises methods and systems forimplementing wireless communications and self-organizing networks(“SONs”), and, more particularly, to methods, systems, and apparatusesfor implementing self-organizing mobile networks (“SOMNETs”) of dronesand platforms. FIG. 9 illustrates a schematic diagram of a system 900that can be used in accordance with one set of embodiments. The system900 can include one or more user computers, user devices, or customerdevices 905. A user computer, user device, or customer device 905 can bea general purpose personal computer (including, merely by way ofexample, desktop computers, tablet computers, laptop computers, handheldcomputers, and the like, running any appropriate operating system,several of which are available from vendors such as Apple, MicrosoftCorp., and the like), cloud computing devices, a server(s), and/or aworkstation computer(s) running any of a variety ofcommercially-available UNIX™ or UNIX-like operating systems. A usercomputer, user device, or customer device 905 can also have any of avariety of applications, including one or more applications configuredto perform methods provided by various embodiments (as described above,for example), as well as one or more office applications, databaseclient and/or server applications, and/or web browser applications.Alternatively, a user computer, user device, or customer device 905 canbe any other electronic device, such as a thin-client computer,Internet-enabled mobile telephone, and/or personal digital assistant,capable of communicating via a network (e.g., the network(s) 910described below) and/or of displaying and navigating web pages or othertypes of electronic documents. Although the exemplary system 900 isshown with two user computers, user devices, or customer devices 905,any number of user computers, user devices, or customer devices can besupported.

Certain embodiments operate in a networked environment, which caninclude a network(s) 910. The network(s) 910 can be any type of networkfamiliar to those skilled in the art that can support datacommunications using any of a variety of commercially-available (and/orfree or proprietary) protocols, including, without limitation, TCP/IP,SNA™, IPX™, AppleTalk™, and the like. Merely by way of example, thenetwork(s) 910 (similar to network(s) 160 in FIGS. 1 and 260 in FIG. 2,or the like) can each include a local area network (“LAN”), including,without limitation, a fiber network, an Ethernet network, a Token-Ring™network and/or the like; a wide-area network (“WAN”); a wireless widearea network (“WWAN”); a virtual network, such as a virtual privatenetwork (“VPN”); the Internet; an intranet; an extranet; a publicswitched telephone network (“PSTN”); an infra-red network; a wirelessnetwork, including, without limitation, a network operating under any ofthe IEEE 802.11 suite of protocols, the Bluetooth™ protocol known in theart, the Z-Wave protocol known in the art, the ZigBee protocol or otherIEEE 802.15.4 suite of protocols known in the art, and/or any otherwireless protocol; and/or any combination of these and/or othernetworks. In a particular embodiment, the network might include anaccess network of the service provider (e.g., an Internet serviceprovider (“ISP”)). In another embodiment, the network might include acore network of the service provider, and/or the Internet.

Embodiments can also include one or more server computers 915. Each ofthe server computers 915 may be configured with an operating system,including, without limitation, any of those discussed above, as well asany commercially (or freely) available server operating systems. Each ofthe servers 915 may also be running one or more applications, which canbe configured to provide services to one or more clients 905 and/orother servers 915.

Merely by way of example, one of the servers 915 might be a data server,a web server, a cloud computing device(s), or the like, as describedabove. The data server might include (or be in communication with) a webserver, which can be used, merely by way of example, to process requestsfor web pages or other electronic documents from user computers 905. Theweb server can also run a variety of server applications, including HTTPservers, FTP servers, CGI servers, database servers, Java servers, andthe like. In some embodiments of the invention, the web server may beconfigured to serve web pages that can be operated within a web browseron one or more of the user computers 905 to perform methods of theinvention.

The server computers 915, in some embodiments, might include one or moreapplication servers, which can be configured with one or moreapplications accessible by a client running on one or more of the clientcomputers 905 and/or other servers 915. Merely by way of example, theserver(s) 915 can be one or more general purpose computers capable ofexecuting programs or scripts in response to the user computers 905and/or other servers 915, including, without limitation, webapplications (which might, in some cases, be configured to performmethods provided by various embodiments). Merely by way of example, aweb application can be implemented as one or more scripts or programswritten in any suitable programming language, such as Java™, C, C#™ orC++, and/or any scripting language, such as Perl, Python, or TCL, aswell as combinations of any programming and/or scripting languages. Theapplication server(s) can also include database servers, including,without limitation, those commercially available from Oracle™,Microsoft™, Sybase™, IBM™, and the like, which can process requests fromclients (including, depending on the configuration, dedicated databaseclients, API clients, web browsers, etc.) running on a user computer,user device, or customer device 905 and/or another server 915. In someembodiments, an application server can perform one or more of theprocesses for implementing wireless communications and self-organizingnetworks (“SONs”), and, more particularly, to methods, systems, andapparatuses for implementing self-organizing mobile networks (“SOMNETs”)of drones and platforms, as described in detail above. Data provided byan application server may be formatted as one or more web pages(comprising HTML, JavaScript, etc., for example) and/or may be forwardedto a user computer 905 via a web server (as described above, forexample). Similarly, a web server might receive web page requests and/orinput data from a user computer 905 and/or forward the web page requestsand/or input data to an application server. In some cases, a web servermay be integrated with an application server.

In accordance with further embodiments, one or more servers 915 canfunction as a file server and/or can include one or more of the files(e.g., application code, data files, etc.) necessary to implementvarious disclosed methods, incorporated by an application running on auser computer 905 and/or another server 915. Alternatively, as thoseskilled in the art will appreciate, a file server can include allnecessary files, allowing such an application to be invoked remotely bya user computer, user device, or customer device 905 and/or server 915.

It should be noted that the functions described with respect to variousservers herein (e.g., application server, database server, web server,file server, etc.) can be performed by a single server and/or aplurality of specialized servers, depending on implementation-specificneeds and parameters.

In certain embodiments, the system can include one or more databases 920a-920 n (collectively, “databases 920”). The location of each of thedatabases 920 is discretionary: merely by way of example, a database 920a might reside on a storage medium local to (and/or resident in) aserver 915 a (and/or a user computer, user device, or customer device905). Alternatively, a database 920 n can be remote from any or all ofthe computers 905, 915, so long as it can be in communication (e.g., viathe network 910) with one or more of these. In a particular set ofembodiments, a database 920 can reside in a storage-area network (“SAN”)familiar to those skilled in the art. (Likewise, any necessary files forperforming the functions attributed to the computers 905, 915 can bestored locally on the respective computer and/or remotely, asappropriate.) In one set of embodiments, the database 920 can be arelational database, such as an Oracle database, that is adapted tostore, update, and retrieve data in response to SQL-formatted commands.The database might be controlled and/or maintained by a database server,as described above, for example.

According to some embodiments, system 900 might further compriseplatform(s) 925, one or more vehicle(s) 930 (which comprises one or moremanned vehicles 935 a-935 n (collectively, “manned vehicles 935” or thelike), one or more unmanned vehicles 940 a-940 n (collectively,“unmanned vehicles 940” or the like)), some or all of which (togetherwith user devices 905 a or 905 b) might be disposed within or might bedeployed to geographic area 945. System 900 might further comprisecomputing system 950 and corresponding database(s) 955. In someembodiments, each of the one or more vehicles might comprise one of amanned vehicle or an unmanned vehicle, and/or the like. In some cases,each manned vehicle might comprise one of a car, a motorcycle, anall-terrain vehicle, a truck, a van, a semi-trailer truck, an aircraft,a subterranean vehicle, an amphibious vehicle, or a water craft, and/orthe like. In some instances, each unmanned vehicle might comprise one ofan aerial drone, a land-based drone, a water-based drone, a subterraneandrone, an amphibious drone, a robot, or an autonomous vehicle, and/orthe like. According to some embodiments, each of the one or more userdevices might comprise one of a laptop computer, a tablet computer, asmart phone, a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant, a set-topbox, a video recording or playback device, an audio recording orplayback device, or a portable gaming device, and/or the like.

In operation, at least one of server(s) 915, platform(s) 925, at leastone manned vehicle 935, at least one unmanned 940, and/or computingsystem(s) 950 might receive one or more requests for one of a pluralityof vehicles to perform one or more tasks; might receive at least onefirst data from at least one first vehicle of the plurality of vehicles,the at least one first data comprising data regarding one or more secondvehicles of the plurality of vehicles of a self-organizing mobilenetwork (“SOMNET”) of vehicles;

and might analyze the at least one first data to determine a status ofat least one second vehicle of the one or more second vehicles.

In response to receiving the one or more requests and based at least inpart on a determination that the at least one second vehicle is capableof performing at least one task of the one or more tasks, the at leastone of server(s) 915, platform(s) 925, at least one manned vehicle 935,at least one unmanned 940, and/or computing system(s) 950 might generateone or more first control instructions and might send the one or morefirst control instructions to the at least one second vehicle, the oneor more first control instructions causing each of the at least onesecond vehicle to perform one or more first actions. In response toreceiving the one or more requests and based at least in part on adetermination that the at least one second vehicle is unable to performthe at least one task of the one or more tasks, the at least one ofserver(s) 915, platform(s) 925, at least one manned vehicle 935, atleast one unmanned 940, and/or computing system(s) 950 might identify atleast one third vehicle of the one or more second vehicles that iscapable of performing the at least one task of the one or more tasks andwithin a predetermined geographic range, might generate one or moresecond control instructions, and might send the one or more secondcontrol instructions to the at least one third vehicle, the one or moresecond control instructions causing each of the at least one thirdvehicle to perform the one or more first actions.

In alternative embodiments, the at least one of server(s) 915,platform(s) 925, at least one manned vehicle 935, at least one unmanned940, and/or computing system(s) 950 might receive at least one firstdata from each of a plurality of vehicles of a self-organizing mobilenetwork (“SOMNET”) of vehicles, the at least one first data comprisingstatus data regarding each vehicle of the plurality of vehicles; receiveat least one second data from each of a plurality of platforms, the atleast one second data comprising status data regarding each platform ofthe plurality of platforms; analyze the at least one first data todetermine a status of each of the plurality of vehicles; and analyze theat least one second data to determine a status of each of the pluralityof platforms. Based at least in part on the analyzed at least one firstdata and the analyzed at least one second data, the at least one ofserver(s) 915, platform(s) 925, at least one manned vehicle 935, atleast one unmanned 940, and/or computing system(s) 950 might generate atleast one of one or more first control instructions to at least onefirst vehicle of the plurality of vehicles or one or more second controlinstructions to at least one first platform of the plurality ofplatforms, the one or more first control instructions causing each ofthe at least one first vehicle to perform one or more first actions, andthe one or more second control instructions causing each of the at leastone first platform to perform one or more second actions.

These and other functions of the system 900 (and its components) aredescribed in greater detail above with respect to FIGS. 1-7.

While certain features and aspects have been described with respect toexemplary embodiments, one skilled in the art will recognize thatnumerous modifications are possible. For example, the methods andprocesses described herein may be implemented using hardware components,software components, and/or any combination thereof. Further, whilevarious methods and processes described herein may be described withrespect to particular structural and/or functional components for easeof description, methods provided by various embodiments are not limitedto any particular structural and/or functional architecture but insteadcan be implemented on any suitable hardware, firmware and/or softwareconfiguration. Similarly, while certain functionality is ascribed tocertain system components, unless the context dictates otherwise, thisfunctionality can be distributed among various other system componentsin accordance with the several embodiments.

Moreover, while the procedures of the methods and processes describedherein are described in a particular order for ease of description,unless the context dictates otherwise, various procedures may bereordered, added, and/or omitted in accordance with various embodiments.Moreover, the procedures described with respect to one method or processmay be incorporated within other described methods or processes;likewise, system components described according to a particularstructural architecture and/or with respect to one system may beorganized in alternative structural architectures and/or incorporatedwithin other described systems. Hence, while various embodiments aredescribed with—or without—certain features for ease of description andto illustrate exemplary aspects of those embodiments, the variouscomponents and/or features described herein with respect to a particularembodiment can be substituted, added and/or subtracted from among otherdescribed embodiments, unless the context dictates otherwise.Consequently, although several exemplary embodiments are describedabove, it will be appreciated that the invention is intended to coverall modifications and equivalents within the scope of the followingclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: receiving, with a computingsystem, one or more requests for one of a plurality of vehicles toperform one or more tasks; receiving, with the computing system, atleast one first data from at least one first vehicle of the plurality ofvehicles, the at least one first data comprising data regarding one ormore second vehicles of the plurality of vehicles of a self-organizingmobile network (“SOMNET”) of vehicles, wherein the at least one firstvehicle receives beacon data from each of at least one second vehicle ofthe one or more second vehicles, wherein the data regarding the one ormore second vehicles comprises the beacon data from each of the at leastone second vehicle, wherein the beacon data from each of the at leastone second vehicle comprises at least one of signal strength of thebeacon data, communication transmit power level, or configurationparameters; analyzing, with the computing system, the at least one firstdata to determine a status of at least one second vehicle of the one ormore second vehicles; and in response to receiving the one or morerequests and based at least in part on a determination that the at leastone second vehicle is capable of performing at least one task of the oneor more tasks, generating, with the computing system, one or more firstcontrol instructions and sending, with the computing system, the one ormore first control instructions to the at least one second vehicle, theone or more first control instructions causing each of the at least onesecond vehicle to perform one or more first actions.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: in response to receiving the one or morerequests and based at least in part on a determination that the at leastone second vehicle is unable to perform the at least one task of the oneor more tasks, identifying, with the computing system, at least onethird vehicle of the one or more second vehicles that is capable ofperforming the at least one task of the one or more tasks and that iswithin a predetermined geographic range, generating, with the computingsystem, one or more second control instructions, and sending, with thecomputing system, the one or more second control instructions to the atleast one third vehicle, the one or more second control instructionscausing each of the at least one third vehicle to perform the one ormore first actions.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or moresecond vehicles comprise the first vehicle.
 4. The method of claim 1,wherein the computing system comprises at least one of one or morevehicle processors disposed in one of the plurality of vehicles, one ormore processors disposed in a user device associated with an operator ofa service provider, a self-organizing network (“SON”) server, a serviceprovider server, a gateway device, a computing node, a server computer,a distributed computing system, a distributed computing system thatintegrates computing resources from two or more vehicles, or a cloudcomputing system.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein each of theplurality of vehicles comprises one of a manned vehicle or an unmannedvehicle, wherein each manned vehicle comprises one of a car, amotorcycle, an all-terrain vehicle, a truck, a van, a semi-trailertruck, an aircraft, a subterranean vehicle, an amphibious vehicle, or awater craft, wherein each unmanned vehicle comprises one of an aerialdrone, a land-based drone, a water-based drone, a subterranean drone, anamphibious drone, a robot, or an autonomous vehicle.
 6. The method ofclaim 1, wherein at least one vehicle of the plurality of vehiclescomprises an inductive charging system that charges via inductive powertransfer from one or more charging pads in a corresponding chargingplatform.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the determined status of theat least one second vehicle comprises one of current battery chargelevel, remaining battery charge level, current geographic location, oneor more currently plotted destinations, one or more currently plottedcourses, proximity to one or more charging platforms, proximity to oneor more communications platforms, proximity to one or more nearbyvehicles, communications status with one or more nearby vehicles, newdevice status within the SOMNET, registration status within the SOMNET,availability to perform at least one of the one or more tasks, status ofcurrent task, status of one or more onboard tools, device failurestatus, disabled device status, or out-of-range device status.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the beacon data from each of the at least onesecond vehicle comprises at least one of a unique identifier assigned toa particular one of the at least one second vehicle, current batterylevel of the at least one second vehicle, remaining battery level of theat least one second vehicle, geographic location information of theparticular one of the at least one second vehicle, or relative locationinformation of the particular one of the at least one second vehiclewith respect to other vehicles.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein theone or more first actions comprise at least one of establishing wirelessnetwork communications between a built-in mobile wireless base stationand at least one wireless network node of a telecommunications networkto augment wireless network functionality, establishing wireless networkcommunications between a built-in mobile wireless base station and atleast one wireless network node of a telecommunications network toextend wireless network functionality, monitoring for vehicularaccidents, monitoring for criminal activities, monitoring for man-madedisasters, monitoring for natural disasters, tracking real-time trafficpatterns, tracking one or more weather conditions, recovering one ormore lost vehicles, recovering one or more damaged vehicles, deliveringone or more packages, tracking one or more packages being delivered, orrepairing one or more telecommunications equipment.
 10. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the one or more second vehicles each comprises at leastone of a vehicle or a drone, wherein each of the one or more secondvehicles comprises a mobile wireless base station, wherein the methodfurther comprises: deploying, with the computing system, the one or moresecond vehicles to at least one geographic area to extend a wirelessrange of a telecommunications network; and establishing, with thecomputing system, wireless network communications between the mobilewireless base station and at least one wireless network node of thetelecommunications network.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the oneor more second vehicles each comprises at least one of a vehicle or adrone, wherein each of the one or more second vehicles comprises one ormore weather sensors comprising at least one of one or more pressuresensors, one or more temperature sensors, one or more motion sensors,one or more solar light sensors, one or more ambient light sensors, oneor more infra-red sensors, one or more ultra-violet sensors, one or moresound sensors, one or more seismic sensors, one or more air qualitysensors, one or more moisture sensors, one or more wind sensors, or oneor more particulate sensors, wherein the method further comprises:tracking, with the one or more weather sensors, weather conditions inone or more geographic areas; receiving, with the computing system, datafrom the one or more weather sensors tracking the weather conditions inthe one or more geographic areas; and sending, with the computingsystem, one or more messages to at least one of one or more user devicesassociated with customers in the one or more geographic areas, one ormore law enforcement agencies, one or more emergency response agencies,or one or more federal agencies, based at least in part on the receiveddata from the one or more weather sensors.
 12. The method of claim 1,wherein the one or more second vehicles each comprises at least one of avehicle or a drone, wherein each of the one or more second vehiclescomprises at least one of one or more cameras or one or moremicrophones, wherein the method further comprises: monitoring, with theat least one of one or more cameras or one or more microphones, at leastone of one or more vehicular accidents, one or more criminal activities,one or more man-made disasters, or one or more natural disasters;receiving, with the computing system, at least one of video or audiocontent from the monitored at least one of one or more vehicularaccidents, one or more criminal activities, one or more man-madedisasters, or one or more natural disasters; and sending, with thecomputing system, one or more messages to at least one of one or morelaw enforcement agencies, one or more emergency response agencies, oneor more towing service companies, or one or more federal agencies, basedat least in part on the received at least one video or audio content.13. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more second vehicles eachcomprises at least one of a vehicle or a drone, wherein the methodfurther comprises: determining, with the computing system and based atleast in part on the status of the at least one second vehicle of theone or more second vehicles, whether at least one fourth vehicle of theone or more second vehicles is at least one of disabled, damaged, orinoperable; determining, with the computing system, a location of the atleast one fourth vehicle that has been determined to be at least one ofdisabled, damaged, or inoperable; deploying, with the computing system,at least one fifth vehicle of the one or more second vehicles to thelocation of the at least one fourth vehicle that has been determined tobe at least one of disabled, damaged, or inoperable; determining, withthe computing system, whether the at least one fourth vehicle is capableof being repaired on-site; based on a determination that the at leastone fourth vehicle is capable of being repaired on-site, repairing,using one or more repair tools of the at least one fifth vehicle, the atleast one fourth vehicle; and based on a determination that the at leastone fourth vehicle is incapable of being repaired on-site, retrieving,using one or more retrieval tools of the at least one fifth vehicle, theat least one fourth vehicle and transporting the at least one fourthvehicle to a repair facility.
 14. The method of claim 1, wherein the oneor more second vehicles each comprises at least one of a vehicle or adrone, wherein the method further comprises: retrieving, using one ormore package delivery tools of the one or more second vehicles, one ormore packages; deploying, with the computing system, the one or moresecond vehicles to one or more customer locations with the retrieved oneor more packages, the one or more customer locations comprising at leastone of one or more customer premises, one or more parked customervehicles, one or more moving customer vehicles, one or more currentlocations of a user device associated with a recipient of at least oneof the one or more packages, one or more anticipated locations of a userdevice associated with a recipient of at least one of the one or morepackages, or one or more designated delivery locations; and delivering,with the one or more second vehicles, each of the retrieved one or morepackages to a corresponding one of the one or more customer locations.15. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more second vehicles eachcomprises at least one of a vehicle or a drone, wherein each of the oneor more second vehicles comprises at least one of one or more cameras orone or more microphones, wherein the method further comprises:monitoring, with the at least one of one or more cameras or one or moremicrophones, at least one package being delivered to one or morecustomer locations, the one or more customer locations comprising atleast one of one or more customer premises, one or more parked customervehicles, one or more moving customer vehicles, or one or moredesignated delivery locations; receiving, with the computing system, atleast one of video or audio content from the monitored at least onepackage being delivered to the one or more customer locations; andsending, with the computing system, one or more messages to at least oneof one or more user devices associated with customers who are located atthe one or more customer locations, one or more devices associated witha service provider deploying the one or more second vehicles, one ormore devices associated with a delivery company delivering the at leastone package, or one or more devices associated with one or moremerchants who sold the at least one package to the customers.
 16. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the one or more second vehicles eachcomprises at least one of a vehicle or a drone, wherein the methodfurther comprises: determining, with the computing system, whether oneor more telecommunications equipment within a geographic area are atleast one of disabled, damaged, or inoperable; determining, with thecomputing system, a location of the one or more telecommunicationsequipment that have been determined to be at least one of disabled,damaged, or inoperable; deploying, with the computing system, at leastone sixth vehicle of the one or more second vehicles to the location ofeach of the one or more telecommunications equipment that have beendetermined to be at least one of disabled, damaged, or inoperable;determining, with the computing system, whether the one or moretelecommunications equipment are capable of being repaired on-site;based on a determination that at least one of the one or moretelecommunications equipment are capable of being repaired on-site,repairing, using one or more repair tools of the at least one sixthvehicle, the at least one of the one or more telecommunicationsequipment that are capable of being repaired on-site; and based on adetermination that at least one of the one or more telecommunicationsequipment are incapable of being repaired on-site, retrieving, using oneor more retrieval tools of the at least one sixth vehicle, the at leastone of the one or more telecommunications equipment that are incapableof being repaired on-site and transporting the at least one of the oneor more telecommunications equipment to a repair facility.
 17. Anapparatus, comprising: at least one processor; and a non-transitorycomputer readable medium communicatively coupled to the at least oneprocessor, the non-transitory computer readable medium having storedthereon computer software comprising a set of instructions that, whenexecuted by the at least one processor, causes the apparatus to: receiveone or more requests for one of a plurality of vehicles to perform oneor more tasks; receive at least one first data from at least one firstvehicle of the plurality of vehicles, the at least one first datacomprising data regarding one or more second vehicles of the pluralityof vehicles of a self-organizing mobile network (“SOMNET”) of vehicles,wherein the at least one first vehicle receives beacon data from each ofat least one second vehicle of the one or more second vehicles, whereinthe data regarding the one or more second vehicles comprises the beacondata from each of the at least one second vehicle, wherein the beacondata from each of the at least one second vehicle comprises at least oneof signal strength of the beacon data, communication transmit powerlevel, or configuration parameters; analyze the at least one first datato determine a status of at least one second vehicle of the one or moresecond vehicles; and in response to receiving the one or more requestsand based at least in part on a determination that the at least onesecond vehicle is capable of performing at least one task of the one ormore tasks, generate one or more first control instructions and send theone or more first control instructions to the at least one secondvehicle, the one or more first control instructions causing each of theat least one second vehicle to perform one or more first actions. 18.The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the apparatus comprises at least oneof one or more vehicle processors disposed in one of the plurality ofvehicles, one or more processors disposed in a user device associatedwith an operator of a service provider, a self-organizing network(“SON”) server, a service provider server, a gateway device, a computingnode, a server computer, a distributed computing system, a distributedcomputing system that integrates computing resources from two or morevehicles, or a cloud computing system.
 19. The apparatus of claim 17,wherein each of the plurality of vehicles comprises one of a mannedvehicle or an unmanned vehicle, wherein each manned vehicle comprisesone of a car, a motorcycle, an all-terrain vehicle, a truck, a van, asemi-trailer truck, an aircraft, a subterranean vehicle, an amphibiousvehicle, or a water craft, wherein each unmanned vehicle comprises oneof an aerial drone, a land-based drone, a water-based drone, asubterranean drone, an amphibious drone, a robot, or an autonomousvehicle.
 20. A system, comprising: a computing system, comprising: atleast one first processor; and a first non-transitory computer readablemedium communicatively coupled to the at least one first processor, thefirst non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereoncomputer software comprising a first set of instructions that, whenexecuted by the at least one first processor, causes the computingsystem to: receive one or more requests for one of a plurality ofvehicles to perform one or more tasks; receive at least one first datafrom at least one first vehicle of the plurality of vehicles, the atleast one first data comprising data regarding one or more secondvehicles of the plurality of vehicles of a self-organizing mobilenetwork (“SOMNET”) of wherein the at least one first vehicle receivesbeacon data from each of at least one second vehicle of the one or moresecond vehicles, wherein the data regarding the one or more secondvehicles comprises the beacon data from each of the at least one secondvehicle, wherein the beacon data from each of the at least one secondvehicle comprises at least one of signal strength of the beacon data,communication transmit power level, or configuration parameters; analyzethe at least one first data to determine a status of at least one secondvehicle of the one or more second vehicles; and in response to receivingthe one or more requests and based at least in part on a determinationthat the at least one second vehicle is capable of performing at leastone task of the one or more tasks, generate one or more first controlinstructions and send the one or more first control instructions to theat least one second vehicle, the one or more first control instructionscausing each of the at least one second vehicle to perform one or morefirst actions the at least one second vehicle comprising: a propulsionsystem; at least one second processor; and a second non-transitorycomputer readable medium communicatively coupled to the at least onesecond processor, the second non-transitory computer readable mediumhaving stored thereon computer software comprising a second set ofinstructions that, when executed by the at least one second processor,causes the at least one second vehicle to: receive one of the one ormore first control instructions or the one or more second controlinstructions; and perform the one or more first actions, based at leastin part on the received one of the one or more first controlinstructions.